The Balance of Love and Time
by ForeverLittleRed
Summary: Jordan never felt like they fit in. Their parents didn't accept them, their best friend won't talk to them and they were struggling with school. When they were offered a chance to find acceptance and love, their whole world opened up to a million more opportunities.
1. Unbalanced

"Mom," Jordan said with exasperation. "It's not a phase, I'm completely and one hundred percent serious, been serious about it since I was fourteen."

" _Nonsense, mija,"_ Jordan's mother's said, condescending and tinny, over the phone speaker. " _You've only told me last year. You couldn't possibly have known that long."_

"Maybe I only told you now was because I'm an adult and I know myself," Jordan retorted, rolling their eyes.

" _Please, you're practically still a child,"_ their mother dismissed, " _this binary gender nonsense is something that will pass."_

"No, it won't, mother," Jordan gritted out, "and for the record it's _nonbinary."_

" _Now, Ol-"_ Jordan's mother started before Jordan cut her off.

"Goodbye, mother," they said finally.

They ended the call with finality, chucking their phone toward the bed blindly.

Burying their head in their hands, they groaned in frustration.

"Every time, every time with that woman," they muttered, "She just can't get it through her thick skull that I'm not her precious _daughter_ anymore. I'm nonbinary."

"I'm nonbinary," they repeated more firmly, straightening up, "I'm nonbinary and I use they/them pronouns, and there's nothing wrong with me."

They sighed, pulling on a curl of brown hair, "Oh, who am I kidding? Mom's never going to accept me. Might as well focus on school."

They shifted and clambered out of bed, grabbing their school bag.

 _BANG!_

They paused in pulling out their school binder.

The crash had come from their living room, and it didn't sound like their cat had tipped over something.

They shoved their bag away and stood up. They walked toward the door, hand hesitating on the doorknob.

They stopped, circling back and grabbing their small canister of mace. Jordan nodded to themself and slowly opened the door.

Peeking left and right, they hesitantly made their way forward.

They checked their guest room first, then the bathroom and when they made sure that there wasn't any danger they made their way to the living room.

Mace held at the ready, they inched forward, ready to spray.

Jordan made their way in, and found nothing except their cat.

Lowering their mace in slight disappointment, they knelt down to scratch their cat's purring form.

"Hey there, Anubis," they murmured. "Were you the one that knocked something over, you little asshole."

Anubis purred in contentment before stretching with a yawn, and lazily batted Jordan's hand away.

Jordan winced slightly when his claws accidentally nicked them, but they examined their hand and saw nothing but a light red scratch.

"Well, fuck you too, Nubs," they shook their head at the cat's antics.

Anubis meowed and stood up with a stretch. He leisurely strutted over to one of the living room walls, and crept behind the couch.

Jordan's brows furrowed in confusion.

"Nubs? What the hell are you doing?" Jordan followed after, "You know you're not supposed to-"

They pushed the sofa away from the wall to pick up their cat, but stopped when they noticed the glowing crack in their wall.

They dropped their mace and distantly heard it clatter away.

"What the fuck caused this?" They breathed in concern and awe.

They reached out to touch it, but physically refrained, lowering their hand.

There was something alluring about the golden glow emitting from the crack, and Jordan wanted to find out what.

"No," they muttered, "No, we're going to call the landlord and get her to fix this. We are not going to become the next victim of a horror film."

Shaking their head, they reached into their pocket for their phone. They pulled it out and called their landlord, Susan, the phone rang the dial tone a few times before the call picked up.

"Susan? Hey, I just wanted to call about-"

"Good evening, Elliott," a silky purr greeted, and pulled the phone away. They checked the number, and their concern grew when the number displayed odd, circular symbols.

Cautiously, they put the phone back, "Who are you?"

"No one to be concerned about," the voice leered at Jordan.

"Okay, if you say so," Jordan hung up quickly and tossed their phone onto the sofa. Their cat purred, rubbing against their leg, and they sighed.

Leaning down to pet Anubis again, they brought their cat up to hold and cuddle. He barely protested and meowed slightly and snuggled up to them.

"That was creepy, Nubs," they muttered into Anubis' black spotted fur. "Whoever that was knew my first name, I only let my friends call me that, and I don't have that many friends."

Jordan sighed, shaking their head and shuddered, "Well at least it wasn't my dead name, that would've been worse."

Walking toward the love seat far away from the crevice in their wall, they sat down and cuddled close to Anubis.

"Sometimes," they mumbled into the cat's fur coat, "it's like you're the only one who gets me."

Anubis meowed and swiped a paw at them. Wincing, they pulled away, letting the cat settle in their lap instead, "Yeah, yeah, fuck you too, kitty-cat."

Jordan yawned, and shimmied out of their shirt. Carefully taking their binder off, they laid it on the side and pulled their shirt back on.

They checked the time, wincing at the late hour and wondering why their mother had to call at two in the morning.

They couldn't blame her though, the nine hour difference was hard on all of them. They felt their eyes start to flutter close.

* * *

They woke up abruptly, gasping, as someone doused them with water.

"Finally!" Someone shouted in exasperation and disdain, "You humans and your distrustfulness and need for sleep."

"Now, Black, it was your idea in calling them like that, if you had only-"

"Oh, right, of course," the so-called Black cut in snippily, "and your idea of knocking on their doorstep wouldn't have done the same thing, White."

Jordan rubbed the water away from their eyes, shaking off the excess water. They were in a blank room, no furniture or knick-knacks in sight, and they were sat on the ground.

They watched as White, dressed in unsurprisingly or surprisingly white clothing, concede with a nod of their head.

"Perhaps, however, they would have, most definitely, appreciated someone answering them directly instead of an ambiguous reply."

"Oh, like suddenly showing up and saying that we needed them would've been better," Black retorted, similar styled black robes fluttering with the retort.

As White started to reply, Jordan cut them off, "Where the fuck am I?"

The two figures paused before turning to face Jordan. White had a kind expression while Black had an annoyed expression.

"Are you alright?" White asked, reaching toward them.

Jordan leaned back, "Let me ask again; Where. The fuck. Am. I?"

They stared intently into the other two's eyes, a frustrated gleam in their eyes.

White sighed and Black rolled their eyes, "We are still waiting on one more person. But who knows when she'll be here, she's always late."

"I'm here," a deep, regal voice said in amusement, "I, and I suspect Elliott as well, were waiting for your little domestic spat to be over."

Black spluttered and White sighed again more wearily. Jordan turned around to see a short, black-haired woman walk up toward the three. She was wearing a dark blue summer dress, and her black hair was meticulously put up in a bun. She had matching blue glasses and Converse.

She reached out a hand to Jordan, "Hello, dear Elliott, I'm sorry these two bothered you."

Jordan cautiously took her hand, hauling themself up with her help. They noticed the height difference between them. The woman was a head and a half shorter than them.

"Thanks," they said slowly, "will you be the one to finally tell me where the fuck I am?"

"Of course," she said, lowering her head and blue glasses glinting, "but wouldn't you want to know who we are first?"

"I don't really want to get chummy with my kidnappers," they said flatly.

"Kidnappers?!" Black exploded indignantly, "If you had just taken the call and not have hung up, then we wouldn't have had to take you into the dream realm!"

"Thank you, Black," White cut in, "but to answer your question, we are in your 'dream' so to speak. As Black has rudely explained, we needed your help-"

"I'm gonna stop you right there," Jordan held up their hand. "Tell me who the fuck you are now, and maybe I'll consider hearing you out."

The woman sighed, "We are-"

"You're just going to explain to them who we are! After how defiant they've been! Why do we have to answer to them?" Black cut in, peeved.

"Peace, Black," the woman held up her hand, calming him. "We have given reason for them to distrust us, especially with your actions today."

Black huffed, crossing their arms and conceding.

"We are, well, I suppose you can call us guardians," she chuckled slightly, and Black and White rolled their eyes.

"Yeah? Guardians for what?" Jordan demanded, "And why do you keep calling me, Elliott? My name's Jordan."

"Your first name is Elliott, is it not?" White asked, "Elliott Jordan, therefore we call you Elliott."

"Not an answer to my question, man," Jordan said, "but I go by Jordan, you don't have permission to call me Elliott."

"See!" Black cried, throwing their hands up, "the rebelliousness of theirs, do we really need them? The Doctor seems to fare well without them so far. This convoluted plan of yours, Idris, seems to be worthless."

"Peace, Black Guardian. You and I know that while the Doctor is surviving, they need a constant in their life. We have all foreseen how beneficial the Doctor is with… Jordan."

The now named Idris hesitated on Jordan's name, but they were grateful that she had called them by the correct name.

"Wait… are you guys talking about _Doctor Who_? The T.V. show?" Jordan asked, "Oh, god. Are you guys screwing with me, and you're actually Whovians that've kidnapped me?"

Their voice rose higher in pitch as they started to panic, hands starting to shake. White came forward and grabbed their hands, physically stopping them from shaking.

White knelt down in front of them, "Calm. Down. You are no use to yourself or us if you lose yourself to an attack. Breathe, Jordan. Breathe."

Jordan took in a shuddering breath, shoulders trembling. Their back was hunched back and they tightened their grip on White's hands.

They breathed in deeply, clenching their eyes tightly closed. White and the others waited patiently as Jordan pulled themself together.

Slowly, Jordan released White's hands. They took another large breath in, "Okay, okay, I'm good."

"I- I apologize if we had frightened you," Idris said softly, "that was not our intention."

Jordan looked at Idris, a tight smile on their face, "Well, maybe you could make it up to me by explaining what the _fuck_ you want with me?"

Idris nodded her head with a small smile of amusement, "Of course. I suppose you are familiar with the multiverse theory?"

Jordan nodded their head, "I'm pretty sure everyone has at this point."

"Yes, well, we are the guardians of the multiverses. We are seven in total, however, Red suggested that a small group of us would be less overwhelming."

"Too late," Jordan muttered, annoyed at everything. They stepped back from White, who was still in front of them, and crossed their arms.

"Right, seven guardians of the multiverses. Let's say that I believe you. What the fuck do you want with me? And why is _Doctor Who_ , a T.V. show, so important to you?" Jordan asked, eyebrow raised.

Idris winced slightly, "The Doctor is a loose cannon and-"

"And you need someone to keep him in check?" Jordan asked rhetorically. "Well, I'm sorry, but the Doctor can suck it. He's a big boy, he can take care of himself. Seems like he's been doing it for centuries."

"Mmm, I rather like this one," Black said, amused, "I can see why you chose them, Idris."

"Yes, well, thank you for the compliment, Black," Idris said distractedly. "Jordan, the Doctor needs you."

"Well, that seems a little too co-dependant of him," Jordan pointed out. "I doubt he really needs me."

"Jordan," White cut in, tired of the remarks, "please listen to what we have to say. The structure of the multiverses hangs on you."

"Way to put all the pressure on me," Jordan muttered but obediently fell quiet.

Idris shot the White Guardian a thankful look, "Thank you, now Jordan. What we want you to know is that the Doctor is an important part of the universes. He is so embedded in all of them that it's leaked into yours through a T.V. show."

Jordan gave an unimpressed stare, and the White Guardian took over, "The Doctor has proven time and time again how capable he is at keeping the balance of the universes and time."

"Better than Azure at any rate," the Black Guardian muttered. White shot a glare, and Black raised their hands in surrender.

"However, he… forgets sometimes that he is not some god, and he has so much guilt weighing him down."

"And guilt is always an underrated punishment," Jordan whispered in acknowledgement.

"Indeed," the White Guardian nodded, "in doing so, he retreats into himself, and there is no one to pull him out. That is why he takes companions, to remind him that he is fragile, one person, human."

"There have been some," the Black Guardian interjected, "that have succeeded in getting close to him, helping him."

Idris nodded, "The closest being my Wolf."

The Black Guardian tilted his head at her in acknowledgement, "But none have gotten so close as to help him as you."

"Still haven't met him yet, still haven't decided that this is real, and isn't his new regeneration a her now?" Jordan pointed out.

Black chuckled, "Yes, but it entirely depends on the regeneration, for now we'll refer to him as him. And of course it's real."

Jordan rolled their eyes and opened their mouth but Idris picked up where Black left off, "What we're trying to say is that you are a crucial part to the Doctor, his life literally depends on you. The Doctor cannot reside in any other dimension, he only has the one he is currently in."

White took up the next part, and Jordan shifted their gaze to him, "The one he is in is the one you are familiar with in your… T.V. show." His voice was snide as he wrinkled his nose in distaste.

"He has endured so much at the hands of the universe and our brethren. His mind and psyche is riddled with scars."

"Okay," Jordan said slowly, "you're not really appealing him to me, guys, I fully sympathize though. He has my apologies."

Black huffed a laugh, "I concur. If the worlds didn't hang in the balance, I'd do something about him as well. That being said, he needs you, just as you need him."

"Mmm," Jordan made a dubious hum, "Sounds like an unhealthy co-dependancy here, I'm not really for that."

"Perhaps," Idris conceded, "but do not deny that you need him too."

"I've never seen an episode in my life," Jordan deadpanned. "And I don't _need_ anyone. I'm a full-functioning adult. I've lived through most of my life without needing anyone."

"But it's lonely, isn't it?" Black asked, "Your parents don't accept you, your best friend has stopped talking to you for reasons unknown, you're alone in your college dorm with no company besides your cat, you-"

"Alright, alright, I get it," Jordan interrupted loudly, "I'm lonely, but don't you dare bring Nubs into this."

They pointed threateningly at the Black Guardian, who backed off with their hands in the air in surrender.

"But everyone gets lonely," Jordan said, "why would being with the Doctor help?"

"It's a mutually beneficial relationship," Idris explained. "You give him humility, the ability to be humble, be human, and he gives you constancy, always there for you, no matter how angry you or he get."

"But that happens with every companion," Jordan pointed out, "why would I be different? He's had dozens of companions, each one different from the last. Why am I the one that changes him?"

The three shared a look. Black looked bored, White was apprehensive and Idris seemed resigned.

"Well-" White started before Black cut him off, "You don't belong here. When creating this one, we accidently used a time stream from the Doctor's universe and put it into this one by accident."

"I never belong anywhere," Jordan said with a self-deprecating smile before they registered the Black Guardian's words.

"You just wanted to get rid of me, fix me, shove me with the Doctor so that you'd be able to fix _your_ mistake." Jordan accused them with a pointed glare.

"Black," Idris and White hissed at them, and Black seemed annoyed by all of this.

"No," Black said firmly, irritated at having to explain everything, "You may not belong here, in this universe, but you've lived here long enough that nothing has happened thus far, and probably won't, depends on how I feel. To be honest, you don't _need_ to go. As you've seen, the Doctor's fine without you. We're just giving you the chance to be happy, and right our mistake, that too."

Jordan was silent as the Black Guardian spoke, mind reeling at the news. When they were about to speak, the foundation rumbled.

"Oh, dear," Idris said, looking up. "It seems like you're waking up."

She put a comforting hand on Jordan's shoulder, "Think about what we've said tonight, Jordan, the others will appear soon."

"Others?" Jordan asked, but the three guardians were starting to fade away. "What others?"

There was a bright light, and Jordan woke up in their living room. The crack in the wall glowed dully, if Jordan wasn't staring at it they barely would've noticed it.

They rubbed their head, the startings of a headache beginning to form, "Ugh, that was a strange dream."

Anubis meowed, and Jordan turned to look at him. He was standing in front of their T.V. and looking very insistent at it.

They went to Anubis, picking him up and holding him close. The remnants of the dream lingered on their mind, and they absentmindedly petted Anubis' head.

Anubis yowled loudly, struggling out of their arms, and they let him. He dropped down onto the ground and tugged on their pants.

"Fine, fine," Jordan muttered, "what do you want?"

They followed their cat to the front of the T.V. and saw something that wasn't there before. There were a stack of D.V.D.s stacked neatly under the table.

Frowning, they picked it up, seeing the note taped to it. Their eyes widened in surprise as they read the note.

' _Think on what we said, Jordan, and maybe watch why the Doctor needs you. Two more will visit you soon.'_

 _~The Guardians of Order, Chaos and Time_

* * *

Soon didn't come until three months later. Jordan had endured more misgendering from the world, their parents, their classmates.

They thought on what the three had said and proposed, but ultimately decided that it wasn't worth it. The ache in their heart over their old friends and family didn't matter because there were some that didn't misgender them, that seemed to truly think that their gender mattered. They were great.

Azura was a relaxed, but no nonsense woman who was firm but very balanced with herself. Chrys was a tinkering, fun-loving man who always seemed to get their mood up. He was rather mischievous though, pranking many dorms.

He loved to get a kick out of them, said it was good for the soul. Azura usually hit him on the backside of his head whenever he got too wily.

Roux was a very honest and blunt woman, she didn't seem to know how to word anything to seem nicer, always speaking her mind. It was rather refreshing whenever they were on the verge an anxiety attack and needed to stop thinking about the cognitive distortions.

Cole and Ivory never seemed to leave each others' sides. They were always together and constantly argued with each other in a language Jordan couldn't quite place. Ivory seemed to be more organized while Cole seemed to thrive on chaos. Twins on opposite spectrums.

Aurelia seemed to enjoy her biology class, she was constantly asking the professor questions and answering anything else in a lackadaisical manner. But she was fiercely protective of her plants.

Jordan didn't know what to make of these six, they seemed to gravitate around Jordan, and Jordan didn't know how to handle it. Jordan suspected they were the Guardians, but they didn't say anything. They didn't want to lose their first few friends after so long.

They picked up Anubis, petting him much to his protest. He settled in after a while though, and the two of them sat down on the loveseat.

Jordan stared at the barely visible crack still behind their couch. It hadn't done much, it glowed ominously at night, but that seemed to be all it did.

They had called their landlord, but she didn't seem to see anything, and lightly scolded them for calling for no reason.

No one else seemed to be able to see it, and Jordan was concerned and scared about what it might mean for them.

Yawning, they let Anubis jump out of their arms. They stood up and got ready for bed, settling into their bed with another yawn.

Closing their eyes, they fell into a quick sleep.

Opening their eyes, they sat up and groaned. In front of them had a round table draped with a blue and white cloth, the blue fading into the white at the ends.

Jordan was hoping that everything that had happened _was_ a dream, they locked away the D.V.D.s into a drawer and forced themself to forget about it.

They had rarely went outside, only when the other six had cajoled them enough to go out. And they almost managed to forget about the whole thing.

Of course, that was the perfect time to jar their reality, it seemed.

"Well, are you just going to sit there all day or would you like some tea?" someone asked impatiently.

Jordan paused, they knew that voice. They knew that voice, that- that was- Jordan scrambled up, and there Azura and Chrys sat, drinking tea.

Well, Azura was drinking tea, and Chrys was tinkering on a robotic, clapping monkey. Azura was wearing her signature azure pantsuit while Chrys was wearing a white T-shirt and jeans.

Jordan pointed disbelievingly at the two, "You're- the two of you- how- what-?"

Azura held up her hand and Jordan obediently clapped their mouth shut. She took a sip of tea before setting it down on its dish.

She gestured to the open seat in front of her, "Please, take a seat. How do you take your tea?"

Jordan mechanically sat down, answering, "Two spoons of sugar and a splash of milk. You're-"

Azura poured them their tea, stirring in the sugar and milk. She handed them the teacup and dish, "Careful, don't burn yourself. I do hope you like English Breakfast."

"It's alright, but you-"

Azura cut them off again, "Take a sip of tea."

Jordan looked down suspiciously at the murky brown liquid before looking at Azura's expectant face.

They cautiously took a sip, and then took another sip when they found they immensely enjoyed the taste.

"Good, yeah?" Azura smirked.

Jordan nodded, "Now will you please tell me why you're here?"

"You tell us," Chrys said without looking up from his tinkering. Jordan looked at him, confused. "The others told us you were smart, quick on your feet. Teachers do too, so you tell us why we're here."

Jordan wanted to lash out at him, but they knew that wouldn't faze him. "You're the other two Guardians."

Chrys looked up from the toy, approval in his eyes, "Smart one, indeed. Knowing that, can you guess which ones we are?"

"Which _ones_ you are?" Jordan asked.

"Why, of course," Azura said, as if it was obvious, "Take what you know of the two of us and deduce what our domain and name is. You already know White and Black's, I assume?"

Jordan nodded hesitantly, "Order and Chaos respectively, leaving Idris as Time. Does that mean…?"

"That Cole and Ivory and all the others were the other Guardians?" Azura filled in, "Obviously, now Jordan, dear, impress us."

"Obviously," Jordan muttered mockingly. They appraised the two in front of them, Azura's cool demeanour and Chrys' fantastical tinkering.

Azura was always calm and collected, and she was often the mediator whenever Co- White and Black's arguments got out of hand. She loved doing Tai Chi, arguing that it kept one healthy and balanced in mind and body.

With her shimmering blue-black hair always in a perpetual ponytail, and her hands folded together, she looked like the most well-prepared college student ever.

Chrys was the complete opposite, he was always dreaming about the next toy or fantasizing about the next prank he was about to pull. He never seemed to stay still, fidgeting with a new toy he made or bought.

The streak of white or silver in his hair seemed to be a testament to his rebelliousness, and his carefree, almost selfish, attitude got him into more trouble than he needed.

Jordan nodded their head in decision, "I think I know who you are. Azura, you're Balance, and Chrys, you're fun and Fantasy."

The two exchanged impressed looks, Azura said, "Almost, my dear, but that was impressive indeed. Tell us, what are our real names, then?"

"Well, you guys correlate with colours," Jordan started out, tilting their head in thought, "and Black mentioned an Azure…. So Azura, you're Azure. Chrys, Chrys, Crystal! Azure and Crystal!"

"Well done, dear," Azure praised. "I am Azure, Guardian of Equilibrium and Balance."

"And I," Crystal jumped in, "am Crystal, Guardian of Dreams and Fantasy."

"Do you always have two domains?" Jordan asked, leaning forward.

They nodded, and Crystal explained as he worked on the toy without looking, "White and Black are Order and Light and Chaos and Darkness, respectively. While Idris is Time and Space."

Jordan frowned, "What about the other two?"

"You'll have to find out later, Jordan, as we aren't here to talk about the Council of Guardians. We're here for your answer, will you accept it?" Azure asked expectantly.

Jordan hesitated, "What does it entail? White, Black and Idris didn't really explain. They just said that I'll have the Doctor's constancy."

Azure sighed, muttering under her breath, "They can never do anything together."

Crystal rolled his eyes, "Relax, Zuri, at least they introduced the Doctor."

"Don't call me Zuri," Azure snapped at him, and he held his hands up in surrender before going back to his toy.

She sighed, breathing deeply to relax and Jordan piped up, "They also said that the structure of the multiverses hangs on me, but I don't really know about that. Black seems rather dramatic."

"He is," the two of them replied easily.

"Oh, that idiot," Azure muttered angrily, she looked gently at Jordan, "the structure of the multiverses can survive without your input. It would just be _stronger_ with your help."

"Mmm, that doesn't sound like me. If anything, I destroy more than I can help," Jordan said dubiously.

"Oh, Jordan," Azure sighed sadly. "Did you watch any of the… episodes?" Her voice held a small disdain for them in the pause before reverting back to its neutral.

"I didn't want to, wanted to forget it all happened," Jordan replied with a small twinge of guilt.

"Well, it happened whether you like it or not," Crystal said, "now what's your answer?"

"What's gonna happen to me if I say yes?" Jordan shot back. "Because you never told me, you only avoided the question."

Crystal paused his tinkering, looking up at Jordan for a moment before turning to Azure. The two of them seemed to be having a silent conversation, and Jordan huffed, annoyed.

"Are you saying yes?" Crystal asked.

"Answer the damn question, you two," Jordan demanded. "How am I going to get there? What's going to happen to the me here? What am I supposed to _do_ there?"

"Well, really it all depends on you," Azure said finally. "What is it that you want to happen?"

"Oh that's not an answer," Jordan scowled.

Crystal sighed, putting down his screwdriver, "You'll bounce along his timeline, jumping in and out, you'll never stay in one place for long or meet the same Doctor twice in a row."

"That doesn't sound rather fair," Jordan frowned, "what if the Doctor needs me and I just pop away?"

Azure smiled a small, sad smile, "With how you were created mistakenly, there is no timeline in that universe that will behave accordingly. You technically don't exist there, not the one in front of us. As soon as you are transported to that universe, this one will right itself to how it was supposed to be without you. The best we could do is stick you to the Doctor's and with how convoluted his is, it jumps from place to place, time to time. Your timeline and life is reflected in his, as his is to yours."

Jordan tilted their head in thought, nodding. "But what am I to him? To you seven? What made you choose me, besides the mistake thing? Black said that I didn't _need_ to go, that I was fine here. Why did you actively seek me out?"

The two exchanged another silent conversation, and Jordan anxiously waited for the answer. They mindlessly started to tug on a curl of their hair in anticipation.

"Now, now, don't do that," Azure tutted at them, pulling their hand away from their hair. "It's not good for you."

"Well?"

"You…" Crystal paused, gathering his thoughts. "You… are one of the most selfless, kind and protective person that we have ever encountered in this universe."

"That's not true," Jordan shook their head, "I'm plenty rude and selfish and I can barely defend myself against a fifteen year old."

"Just the other day, you shared your dinner with three homeless people. You noticed that one of your classmates was having a bad day, so you gave them a piece of chocolate and an uplifting note. You found a box of kittens, haphazardly thrown around the ground, gathered them all up, and took them to the veterinarians to get them to be taken care of. Need I list more?"

Azure looked at them with a fixed look, and Crystal was smirking at them in amusement.

Jordan blushed bright red, "A-anyone would've done those things."

Crystal shook his head, "The majority of them wouldn't, their passive nature is too powerful."

"But what about the small percentage like me? Surely they could do a better job," Jordan protested.

"While there are others out there like you, kind, forgiving, etc., you are more than them," Azure explained patiently, "You are special, you were a mistake that grew into a flowering blossom tree that was cut into too many times, yet still you grew. You have this tenacity about yourself that humanity tries to copy."

"Bu- but that's the whole crux of humanity, their ability to survive and adapt," Jordan countered. "Look at what we've invented and created to better adapt. I don't see why that makes _me_ the outlier."

Crystal sighed, placing the monkey down, staring at them. "Tell me this, Jordan, why do _you_ think that you don't deserve this?"

"I-" they hesitated, and Crystal leaned back in his chair.

"We'll let you think about that then," he said, Azure taking a sip of her tea. "And look, it's time to wake up."

They stared at the two in confusion before the monkey Crystal was working on clapped its cymbals with a loud, reverberating ring, and they snapped their eyes open.

Jordan sat up, throwing the blankets off hastily. Their mind was reeling, all the information was too much for them.

They sat, thoughts racing as they tried to calm down.

" _Meow,_ " Anubis cried, hitting their knee repeatedly. Jordan quickly scooped him up and hugged him close, burying their face in his fur.

They calmed down slightly as the familiar smell calmed them down. Lifting their head when Anubis seemed to want to be let go, they sniffled slightly and breathed in deep, calming themself.

Anubis meowed once more and Jordan's attention was brought over to him. He had something in his mouth that Jordan couldn't see well in the dark.

They squinted before reaching to turn the desk light on. Blinking to re-orientate themself, they felt as Anubis dropped the thing in their lap.

Jordan picked it up and gasped when they saw that it was the monkey Crystal had been working on in their dream.

There was a note attached to it, and Jordan unfolded it.

' _We'll try one more time, after that if you say no we'll leave you alone. The last two will come soon.'_

 _~The Guardians of Fantasy and Balance_

Jordan groaned, tossing the monkey away, and fell on the bed with a muffled thud. Feeling Anubis settle heavily on top of them, they fell back into a blissful, dreamless sleep.

* * *

The harsh blares of their alarm clock woke Jordan up. They sat up grumpily and checked their phone.

"Shit! I have to get to work!"

Hurrying to get their stuff together, they finished in record time, running out of their apartment and pushing all thoughts of the Doctor and the Guardians out of their mind.

Falling face first onto their bed, Jordan heaved a weary sigh. They toed off their socks, inching up the bed to put their face into a pillow.

They were glad that today had been a good day and they hadn't worn their chest binder.

Finals week was hell on Jordan, they had shut themself in their apartment, not answering to any of the human-Guardians. They only went outside when they had to go to work or buy food.

The Guardians thankfully seemed to understand and the last two, Roux and Aurelia, didn't pop up in any of their dreams yet.

However, Jordan had just finished their last final of the year, and they could almost weep in joy. Sighing, they settled into their position and unwillingly fell asleep.

Opening their eyes, they saw a great, dark ceiling above them. They closed their eyes again, silently wishing that they would fall back into that dreamless state.

"Are you alright, Jordan?" Roux's usually monotonous voice was pitched slightly higher in concern.

"They're trying to go back to sleep, Roux," Aurelia drawled lazily.

"Oh," Roux said, "Jordan, that will not work, as your physical body is asleep, it will only wake once this is over or something from the outside world wakes you up. Since you have woken up here, so you shall stay."

Jordan reluctantly sat up, grumbling, "Well, you can't say I didn't try."

They turned to look around their surroundings for the first time. With White, Black and Idris, the room had been a pure blank slate, nothing there except a vast emptiness and hollow feeling.

With Azure and Crystal, they had been in a modern yet Victorian styled tea room, from the little they glanced around. The designs were simple and elegant, nothing too lavish.

This… this was lavish. The throne room surrounding them, for it could not be described in any other way, was painted in a dark tone. Black columns and pillars held the tall structure.

Heavy draperies hung, ready to close and block out all light. It was tiled in a black and white pattern with inscriptions Jordan couldn't understand on them. Skeletons and bones decorated the walls with tiny gems shining when they caught the light.

However, the atmosphere wasn't as dreary or dead as Jordan would have assumed it would be. It was light and breezy, trees and bushes of every sort bloomed in the corners. Light streaked in through the open window, causing the gems on the wall to sparkle.

Jordan was in awe at the detailed room, rotating around to take it all in. On their last rotation, they caught sight of Roux and Aurelia.

Aurelia was leisurely lounging on a throne, legs swinging on the side of the arm as she looked lazily at them. Her sun-gold hair was hanging in waves around her face, and there was a lazy smirk on her face, as her sundress that matched her hair moved with her legs.

Roux was standing stoically to her left, arms clasped behind her back. Her red hair was pinned up in a tight bun as she stared expectantly at Jordan. She was wearing her light pink, almost white, blouse paired with her bright red pencil skirt, and her foot tapped slightly impatiently.

To the two's right was a giant scale with a heart on one of the dishes and a feather floating above it on the other.

Jordan slowly walked up in front of the two. "Hey, Roux, Aurelia," they nodded nervously.

"Salutations."

"Hey."

The two gave their own greeting respectively, and Jordan relaxed slightly at the familiarity of it all.

"Would you like to postulate our domains and names?" Roux offered, seeming to sense the tension and anticipation in Jordan, "It is alright should you not get the both of them."

Jordan nodded slightly, they had been wondering what the last two's dominions were, theorizing with every free thought, which, admittedly, was not much.

Jordan stared at the two in concentration, eyeing them up and down. Aurelia gave them a half leer, ruined by the waggle in her eyebrows.

Forcing away their blush, they looked at Roux who stared blankly back. They considered her first, she was always protesting every injustice she witnessed, from the jaywalking to misogyny of others. She was always quick-witted, fiery as her hair, and spitting shocking truths at horrified individuals.

Aurelia was a bit more difficult, her blase attitude about everything made it hard to pinpoint any sort of personality on her. But then Jordan was struck by a memory. They were freaking out over a test in one of their classes, and they were in the midst of an anxiety attack when Aurelia shouldered her way in, not taking no for an answer.

She had taken their hands and calmed them down slightly. When they were significantly calmer, she took them up to the roof of their building, and showed them her gigantic rooftop garden.

She had shown them how she had tended to them, how she weeded the garden, watered the flowers and harvested the crop. The garden was mostly barren, save for a few plants that could survive the winter.

Aurelia sat them down and talked about her garden, how she loved to see them thrive with life and how she was always excited to replant them when they had died.

Jordan had asked if she was sad that her plants died, she had only shook her head and said that death was just as much a part of life as life is as part of death. They go hand in hand, and nothing could stop that.

Jordan grinned, knowing exactly who was who. The names were the easiest to figure out, colours co-ordinating with their human names.

"You," they pointed at Roux first, "are the Red Guardian of Truth and Justice."

Roux's eyes widened while Aurelia straightened in her throne. "While you," they pointed at Aurelia this time, "are the Gold Guardian of Life and Death."

The two shared a look, and Jordan allowed themself a smug smile as they crossed their arms in triumph.

"It seems you have gotten better at deducing," the now named Red complimented.

"Or the giant clues you left behind were just so obvious that a ten year old could figure it out," Jordan said lightheartedly.

"Hey, now, don't put yourself down," Aurelia protested, "You were the one to figure it out, don't just take that so flippantly."

"I'm not?" Jordan frowned when it came out more of a question than a statement.

Red's lips twitched at that, "Yes, well, I agree with Gold. There is no need to demean yourself for figuring out this when you did it yourself. You can only solve when the right clues are presented to you, and you had found the right clues. Do not degrade yourself over that."

"I d-" Red fixed them with a look, and they hastily fixed their words, "I'll try."

Red nodded wearily with a sigh, "I suppose that shall do. Now onto other matters, have you come to a decision?"

The two stared expectantly at them, and Jordan bit their lip in thought, "What will happen to Anubis?"

"Do you mean-?" Red started but Gold cut her off, "Your cat will be with his proper home."

"By proper do you mean loving?"

Gold shared a look with Red before turning back to Jordan with a nod, "Yes, of course he will."

Some of the tension left their body, and they relaxed. "What will happen to the people who knew me?"

"Their timelines will be rewritten and shaped to the way it was supposed to be without you," Red answered promptly. "It would be as if you had never existed there at all, though there might be a phantom ache as there is a niggling reminder of you. Though they will never, truly, remember you, only an inkling of what might have been."

Jordan nodded, swallowing, "Okay, okay."

Jordan thought about the Doctor and his long, long life. If what the Guardians were saying was correct, then he had lived an arduous one.

He had suffered losses and won gains, he had saved lives and he had to end lives.

It seemed like the Doctor _was_ invincible, but the Guardians were saying otherwise.

They were saying that _Jordan,_ plain Jordan, boring Jordan, Jordan who got an anxiety attack over talking to a cashier, was the one that helped him.

And it seemed like the Doctor needed more than just his companions. Because he could lose them so easily, their lives were so frail.

The Doctor's only constant was his ship, but if Jordan said yes, they could be his constant too.

Jordan knew their decision.

"Can I say goodbye?" Jordan asked suddenly.

The two looked surprised at them, and Gold squinted confusedly at them, "You do know that they won't ever remember you again, right?"

"Obviously," Jordan retorted, "but I'm willingly giving up my life to this alien in a blue box who saves space and time. I'm willingly leaving the people who have loved and cared for me for years. That would be enough to ruin anyone's psyche. This'll give me some closure."

Gold nodded in understanding, "Does that mean you agree?"

"I- I guess so," Jordan said.

"You cannot guess at this, you must be sure." Red stated firmly, eyes blazing.

"Yeah, er- yes, I'll do it," Jordan repeated more firmly.

"Brilliant," Gold clapped her hands excitedly.

"That is a satisfactory conclusion," Red commented. She checked her watch, "Oh, and it seems to be time for you to wake up now, Jordan."

Jordan nodded, "I just wanted to ask though, what pantheon were you trying to recreate here, Gold? Because it seems like a mix."

Gold laughed, her voice getting more distant, "You'll find out."

That was the last thing Jordan heard before they woke up in their bed.

Their lips twisted in disappointment at that open answer, but they slowly slid out of bed, still tired, to get ready for the day.

As they started changing, something glinting in the light caught their eye. They turned toward the source, their bedside table.

On the table laid a necklace and a note, the pendant of the necklace jad embedded jewels of the colours of all the Guardians.

Its design was familiar, resembling a cross but having a loop instead of the top arm.

 _An ankh_ , they thought distantly, and Jordan wondered where they had seen it from.

Their eyes lit up, and they turned to Anubis in shock, right on the cat's forehead was that same symbol.

Shaking their head, they slipped the necklace on, and read the note.

 _Thank you for agreeing to do this. While there will be times you wonder why you agreed, take this necklace as a reminder. The ankh usually symbolizes life, and the Doctor, your life and many others will forever change. We shall give you a few days to get your farewells in order, and then we shall come for you one last time._

 _~The Guardians of Justice and Truth and Life and Death_

* * *

Jordan wasn't ready. It was two days later, and they still weren't ready to say goodbye.

They had too much unfinished business. Their best friend still wasn't talking to them no matter how many messages they texted them. Their parents still didn't accept them for who they are, and they wer .

" _Meow,"_ Anubis batted at them urgently.

They were hyperventilating, curled up into themself and rocking back and forth, small streaks of tears rolling down their face.

" _Meow!"_ Anubis cried louder and more insistently. Jordan counted back and forth, muttering numbers to try and calm down.

They grabbed their hair, tugging the curls harder and harder with each passing second. Their chest felt heavy, too heavy. They didn't want it, they needed to breathe, they didn't like this.

They wheezed, trying to breathe in deeply.

Anubis hit them in the face, and they winced at the pain. They grabbed the cat, hugging him close.

"One, t-two, three, four. One, two, three, four, five, s-six, se-seven. One, tw-two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight." They counted shakily, breaking apart between every syllable.

Finally stuttering out a ragged breath, they looked around their room.

"Five things I can see…. A-anubis, w-wall, bo-bookshelf, closet, feet. Four things I can touch…. Anubis, b-bed, blanket, pi-pillow."

Jordan's voice got stronger as they grounded themself more, "Three things I can smell… Sweat, Anubis, clothes. Two things I can hear, heartbeat, cat purring."

"And one thing I can taste," Jordan paused, trying to find the words, "...spit."

They took one last shuddering breath, releasing Anubis from their grip. "You're fine, you're fine."

They picked up their phone one more time, dialing it, they put it up to their ear. It immediately went to voicemail.

Sighing in disappointment, they left a voicemail, "Hey, Kennedy, it's me, Jordan, as you probably saw on voice I.D. I know that you're probably tired of me calling and texting, but I just wanted to tell you that I love you. You're my best friend, and I don't know what I did to make you stop talking to me, but I still love you. You're practically my brother, and whatever I did I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I ruined our friendship and that we stopped talking and that we've gone our separate ways and for whatever I did. I love you, bye Kennedy."

They ended the call with a melancholy sigh, staring mournfully at the number. They scrolled down to their parents' home phone number.

Jordan glanced at the time again, making sure that their parents were asleep. They dialed the number, and after a few rings the call went to voicemail.

"Hey, mom, dad, it's me," they paused, cringing, "Olivia. I know we've had our differences, but I just wanted to say that I love you guys anyway. I- I- I'm sorry we had our falling out, but I love you guys, but I don't regret it. I'm still your child, just not your daughter. I'm sorry I'm this way, I love you. Bye, Jordan."

That was that, they supposed. There was nothing else to be done. They had called the school to say that they weren't continuing next year. They had already finished their finals, and it was summer holidays. They had quit their jobs and terminated their lease.

There wasn't anything else really tying them here. They were done.

Laying down defeatedly, they hugged a pillow to their chest and closed their eyes.

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* * *

Jordan gasped awake.

"What? Where! Where am I?!" they scrambled up into a defensive position.

Looking around cautiously, they noticed that their surroundings never seemed to be one place. First they were in a white room with circles surrounding the walls. A console stood in the middle, in the shape of a hexagon.

Then the circles kept shifting, and the room changed with it, different doors morphed into windows or walls or hallways.

Then the lights dimmed to a dark blue, the circles in the walls remained, but the room seemed bigger, more filled with things, pillars surrounded the middle where the controls stood.

Jordan ran toward the middle of the room, but the scenery shifted mid-run. The room grew even larger, wires hung from every corner. The lights cast a warm, orange atmosphere, and the console in the middle grew taller, a green light contrasting with the orange.

Jordan kept running, and the room changed again. The bluish-green light came back, but the style of the room was more sleek, modern. The console was reminiscent of the ones before, hexagonical.

The room shifted one more time, the blue atmosphere came back, but the console emitted its earlier orange light again.

The room shifted and shifted and shifted, and it seemed like Jordan was never going to make it to the middle of the room, until the room rumbled, shifting and Jordan fell forward, hitting the console and Jordan braced for impact.

Jordan closed their eyes tightly, and someone caught them.

"Whoa there," Idris's voice settled them. She helped them up, and they stood on wobbly legs.

"Welcome," Idris greeted gallavantly, "to the Council of the Guardians."

Jordan looked around, the room was similar to the last place that they had dreamed about with Red and Gold.

The only differences were that there wasn't one throne but a circle of thrones in the middle, correlating with each Guardian, etched in more circular symbols.

The walls were golden fading into the gradient of the Guardians' colours. There wasn't any skeletons or gems anymore, but tapestries of people and time periods.

The room was carpeted with similar pictures to the tapestries on the walls. Idris linked their arm with hers, and dragged them along to the circle of thrones as they took in the room.

She pushed them into the centre of the thrones before taking her spot on her own throne.

"Elliott Jordan," the White and Black Guardians announced, "you are here today to rectify our mistake. Before you undertake this arduous journey, you must understand the risks and pass a series of tests."

Jordan frowned, but stayed silent.

Red spoke next, "There will be injustice in this journey, times where you must face difficult decisions and people. Do you, truthfully, feel capable to fight or help the Doctor and yourself in those regards."

Jordan opened their mouth before Red added, "The truth, lest you wish a painful consequence."

Jordan swallowed nervously, "N-no, I don't, but truthfully no one truly does, but I know that I am capable to trust my instincts and follow them even if it means defying the Doctor to save more people."

Red leaned back with an indecipherable expression on her face, nodding solemnly.

Azure spoke next, "Give me an example of balance in the world."

Jordan thought, eyes roaming around the room. Their eye caught something, and they confidently answered, "The White and Black Guardians."

Azure gave them a surprised look, tilting her head with a smirk and a nod. She leaned back in her throne, and gestured for the next Guardian.

Crystal took up the mantle, "Tell me your greatest dream and fantasy."

Jordan fiddled with their fingers, clenching and unclenching them. They answered with a shaky voice, "I just- I just want to be accepted for who I am, loved for who I am. I dream of someone to love me unconditionally in any way they can."

The Crystal Guardian nodded thoughtfully, and Jordan breathed out a sigh of relief, letting their hands go slack.

"Elliott Jordan, do you understand the consequences of life and death?" Gold asked seriously, in a strange contrast to her usual nonchalant manner.

"I understand that death is inevitable and that life thrives on no matter what I do," Jordan answered.

Gold nodded, and settled back. Idris took the next turn, "Elliott Jordan, tell me of a time and place that is important to you."

"I-I-" they swallowed, the memory still tender in their heart. "The year I turned fourteen, and the year that I finally accepted myself for who I was; nonbinary. That moment was the worst time of my life, but it was _so_ important to me because I finally felt _right._ "

Idris nodded with a small, gentle smile and sat back on her throne.

"Elliott Jordan," the White and Black Guardians spoke in unison, "your actions of your other life shall be weighed against the Feather of Truth. Should your heart be found heavier than the heart than you shall return back to your old world, should your heart be balanced with the feather, than you shall proceed."

Jordan nodded, slightly confused, putting their hand up to their chest, where their heart was beating.

"It's a metaphor, dear," Idris reassured them.

"Oh," they said simply. The scale from when Gold and Red came into the light, and a heart was placed onto the left dish. The floating feather slowly fluttered down onto the right dish.

The scale went up and down, and Jordan anxiously bit their bottom lip. There were a few tense moments as they heard the blood rush in their ears, and the scale didn't seem to want to settle.

Finally the weight settled and it remained balanced against one another. Jordan breathed out a sigh of relief, closing their eyes, causing them not to see Red flick her hands slightly.

"Does that mean I get to go?" Jordan asked anxiously.

"It does," Idris nodded warmly with a smile.

"Congratulations," Gold drawled with a smile, back to her laid-back manner.

"Indeed," Red nodded, "may your journey be fruitful."

Crystal smiled gleefully, "Ooh, I can't wait!"

Azure gave them a solemn nod and small smile.

The White and Black Guardians lifted their hands, prompting the other five to do the same.

They chanted unintelligible jargon and their necklace lifted up into the air. Lights beamed out of it and Jordan was blinded by the light, engulfed.

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"What was that, Red?" the White and Black Guardians demanded, worry and anger in their unified voice.

"I-I have no idea," she stuttered, "this has never happened before."

Azure nodded, frowning deeply in thought, "Indeed, the scale is not meant for that. Everything we imbued into the Feather should make it the universal weight. Nothing is supposed to be lighter than the Feather. It was made impossible."

Crystal nodded, "Jordan is an anomaly, from what happened to their birth to how they chose to be with the Doctor, perhaps this is another one of their oddities."

Gold didn't say anything, her face showing her worries and trouble. "Idris," she called, "what- what do you think it is?"

"I think," Idris said slowly, pensive, "that Jordan is much more important than we previously assumed."

The seven Guardians looked toward the scale. Jordan's representation of their heart weighing ominously lighter than the Feather of Truth.

* * *

" _Mr Halpen, sir. Dr Ryder, new head of Ood Management."_

Jordan was drifting….

" _How many dead? Come on, facts and figures. I haven't flown all this way to discuss the weather, which by the way is freezing."_

They didn't know where they were.

" _Red-eye."_

They kept falling.

" _I would think so sir."_

They felt different.

" _That ***. What happened to it?"_

They fell toward… something… they heard something… someone.

" _Oh, ran for the wild sir. Like a dog. One of the guards fired off a shot. It'll be dead by now."_

They knew that this was important.

" _Oh, fat lot of good, all of you. We're exporting hundreds of thousands of *** to all the civilised planets. If they turn rabid, you know what it'll mean."_

They're straining to hear more.

" _It's a brain…. *** *** are born with a secondary brain. Like the amygdala in humans, it processes memory and emotions."_

They _needed_ to remember.

" _...nothing without us, just animals roaming around on the ice."_

They _have_ to remember.

" _Kill the livestock. The classic foot-and-mouth solution from the olden days. Still works."_

They wanted the Doctor.

" _The circle must be broken…."_

Jordan woke up.

* * *

 **Hello, hello, hello!**

 **Back again with a new story! I hope you all enjoyed this. This was an idea that was nagging me for weeks, and I really wanted to try my hand at the jumping timeline cliche of _Doctor Who._ I don't know if I'll continue this, I'll leave it up as in-progress, but it's entirely up to you guys. If anyone wants me to continue, leave a review! I left most of the Guardians open to interpretation so that's up to your imagination. I know that there are six Guardians, but I wanted to include Idris because I thought it would be neat. Also kudos and cookies 🍪🍪🍪 to those who knew who my inspiration for Idris was! All the mistakes are mine. Please leave a review on what you liked or disliked, and I'll see _you_ next time!**

 **Goodbye, bye, bye!**


	2. Planet of the Ood

Jordan slowly came to groggily. Something soft was brushing their face, and they batted it away.

It insistently continued brushing against their face, and they groaned, opening their eyes.

Anubis was on their chest, and his claws were gently padding them.

"Hey, Nubs," they croaked out, sitting up. They looked around, confused. This wasn't a room in their apartment.

The walls were a muted green, their favourite colour, and they stopped short. Brows furrowing in confusion, they said, "This isn't my room. My room is an ugly beige cuz I'm not allowed to paint the walls."

They sat up straighter, blankets pooling onto their lap. "I- what happened?"

Anubis meowed, and Jordan directed their attention to the cat.

"Do you know where we're at, Nubs?" they cooed at the annoyed cat. The cat scratched at their face, his claws nicking their cheek.

"Ugh! You are a horrible cat!" Jordan harrumphed, "See if I give you any treats ever again."

The door opened with a soft click, and Jordan looked to see someone walk in with a tray of food. Anubis jumped off their lap, settling into a bed in the far corner and settling himself comfortably on it.

"Oh!" The person said, surprised. "You're awake! Brilliant, you gave us a right scare there, Jordan. Normally when you pop in, it's less of a fall and more of an appearance. That spaceman was out of his mind, worrying about you."

So this person knew Jordan, they'd have to play along then. They didn't know how they knew this person, but they wouldn't want to get on their bad side if they were a possible enemy.

They sat down on the edge of the bed, setting the tray on Jordan's lap.

"Er, thanks," Jordan said awkwardly, "but you didn't have to get me anything."

"Don't be daft," they dismissed with a flick of their red hair over their shoulder. "You're always famished after popping in, and I bet you'd love some tomato soup right now."

"With gril-"

"Yes, yes, I have your cheese toastie," they interrupted with a shake of their head. "You Americans, why would you grill it?"

"Donna!" someone else barged in, and Jordan recognized the Doctor's face from his… tenth? regeneration? Probably. They really should've watched the show, now that they thought about it.

The Doctor stopped short, seeing Jordan sitting up and awake. "Jordan! You're awake!" he beamed, face brightening at the sight of them.

The now named Donna stood up, brushing hands together, "I'll just get out of your hair now, and let you two aliens snog or whatever you two do when I'm not here."

"Donna!" the Doctor blushed a bright red, and Donna laughed at his expense, walking out without a second glance.

He shook his head at the retreating back, "Sorry about her, she doesn't seem to get that we're not like that."

He cut himself off when he glanced back up at them, eyes seeming to notice the tray of food. "Oh, sorry I forget how hungry you get when you pop in and out. You still haven't told me how you do that by the way."

"If you haven't figured it out now, I doubt I'll ever tell you," Jordan quipped, hoping that that didn't give him any suspicion.

"I'll figure it out," he promised.

"Sure you will," Jordan rolled their eyes. They tucked a stray curl behind their ear, and the Doctor's attention was drawn to the movement.

He frowned at the movement, "You only do that when you feel like you're in an awkward or uncomfortable situation. What happened before you got here? Where were you?"

"Er-" Jordan didn't know how to respond. Should they tell him that this was their first time meeting him? Should they tell him that they had no idea what was actually happening? Or-?

"Never mind then," the Doctor shook his head, cutting their line of thought off, "must've been a future adventure."

He frowned when he inspected their face closer, murmuring, "You're young, younger than the last Jordan I saw."

"I don't know if I'm supposed to take that as a compliment or an insult," Jordan responded awkwardly.

The Doctor didn't say anything, but he reached up and grabbed the side of their face gently, turning it to the side. He looked at and behind their ear before suddenly letting go, "Very young. Jordan, what's my name?"

"I- what?" they asked, confused by the change in subject.

"My name, Jordan," the Doctor said again patiently. His brown eyes hid any emotion from them, and they didn't know what he meant.

Did he mean his title, which was the Doctor? Or did he mean his actual name, not the title he wanted everyone to call him.

They didn't know how to answer, choosing to instead evade the question, "Your name is your name. Are you telling me that after all these years you've forgotten it? I mean, you may not look it, but you are getting on in your years, you know."

The Doctor barked out a laugh, head thrown back, "Clever, very clever. But not clever enough for me. Is this your first jump?"

Jordan flushed a bright red, "So what if it is?"

"Oh Jordan, you'll always be the same, won't you," the Doctor sighed, and stood up. "I'll let you eat."

He stooped down and kissed the top of their head instinctively, "Oh, and uh if the ride gets a bit bumpy, I'm blaming you."

"Wait, what? Why would you-?" Jordan started to ask, but the Doctor had already closed the door behind him.

Jordan stared at the slightly warm soup in their lap, "What the hell was that?"

The soup didn't respond, and Jordan didn't know what they expected. They sighed and picked up the spoon on the side, spooning the tomato soup into their mouth.

They relished the tangy taste of the tomato and ripped off a piece of the sandwich, dipping it into the soup. The ache in their stomach that they didn't realize they had subsided at the food, and their spoon clinked with the bottom of the bowl.

"Well, Donna was right, guess I _was_ hungry." Jordan said. They set the tray to the side and slipped out of bed. They went through what they assumed was the bathroom and was met with, unsurprisingly, a bathroom.

The room wasn't very spacious but more so than their apartment's was. The walls were tiled with a grey colour, a smooth texture. It was a modern style with a shower and bath combo.

They slipped off their shirt and froze in front of the mirror. Jordan stared at their reflection, and tears started to leak out of their eyes.

They reached out to touch the reflection, unsure if they were dreaming.

"I- I have a flat chest?" they said, voice cracking.

They didn't want to look down, they didn't want to break that image of them with a flat chest, and the bane of their existence, their breasts, being gone forever.

A pinch of pain brought them out of their frozen reverie, and they jumped, startled.

" _Meow!"_ Anubis scratched at them irritably.

"Ow! What the hell, Anubis?" They scolded the cat, before realization set in, "Oh my god, Anubis! You came with me!"

They picked up the struggling cat, hugging him close. Anubis wriggled out of their arms, jumping down from their chest, nicking it.

Jordan hissed at the scratch and put a hand on the small, red welt. "Well, at least I'm not bleeding."

They shook their head at their cat's antics, "I can't believe I didn't notice that Anubis was here. He fucking woke me up."

Scoffing at their obliviousness, they chanced a look at the mirror again. Sure enough, their chest was flat and no scars were on their chest.

"H- how?" they breathed out. "I couldn't even save up for top surgery. Everything was going to my tuition, and now just because some fucking mistake that brought me into life made it so that my dream came true, I don't have my breasts anymore."

"Brilliant, isn't it?" another voice interrupted, and Jordan yelped, spinning around to see Crystal leaning against the bathroom wall.

"Chrys! Er- Crystal, what're you doing here?" they asked, self-consciously covering their chest.

"Just seeing how you're settling in, and you should call me Chrys. I'm not really supposed to be here right now," he winked at them, and an unbidden smile spread across their lips.

"Can you explain how I er-?"

"How you have a flat chest even though you couldn't and never had top surgery?" he finished. "It was a dream of yours to be accepted for who you are, right? Well, here's your starting chance."

Chrys nodded at their chest with a smile, "You'll still have some trouble, some discrimination, but I think getting rid of a bit of dysphoria is a step forward."

Jordan stared at him for an indeterminable amount of time before they launched their arms around him, Chrys stumbling back from the force.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" they sobbed into his shoulder, tears of joy wetting his white button up shirt.

"Er, no problem, kid," Chrys patted their shoulder awkwardly. "Just uh- put the waterworks away okay? If the others saw me now, my rep would be ruined."

Jordan released him from their grip, wiping away their tears. They grinned widely at him, "You're just a big softy, aren't ya?"

Chrys froze and a flash of something flitted through his eyes, and Jordan saw a glimpse of why he was a guardian.

"You shouldn't say something about someone you just met," he said softly. "I've done some things that I wasn't proud of."

"Yeah?" they tilted their head. "I have too. Do you regret it?"

"Sometimes," he still kept his voice soft, and his gaze focused on a spot on the far side of the wall.

"Someone who didn't regret wouldn't have just fulfilled one of my dreams," Jordan reasoned. "They would've demanded something in return, or not have bothered in the first place. You didn't have to do it, you wanted to."

"One good deed doesn't cancel out the rest," Chrys countered sharply.

Jordan tilted their head in concedence, "You're right, it doesn't. Would you do any of those those things again?"

He shrugged, not giving them an answer. They sighed and slung an arm around his shoulders, tiptoeing just slightly to reach.

"You're a good person to me, Chrys. Just don't give me reason otherwise, and we'll stay friends."

"Why do I have the feeling that that was a threat?" he asked with a half smirk.

"I'm glad we understand each other!" They beamed at him. Just then, the TARDIS shook, nearly knocking the two of them off their feet.

"Guess that's my cue to go," Chrys chuckled. He hesitated slightly before he gave them a one-armed hug and left quickly left in a shower of white doves.

"Did he have to leave like that?" they asked when a dove flew into their hair, nesting slightly.

The TARDIS quaked again, and there was a scream. Jordan didn't waste time, they slipped back on their shirt and raced out of their room.

"What the hell was that?" They demanded, reaching a familiar room.

"Set the controls to random. Mystery tour!" he said. "Hey, Jordan. We're going out! Outside that door could be any planet, anywhere, anywhen in the whole wide... Are you alright?" he asked, addressing Donna, who looked a bit green.

"Terrified," she admitted. "I mean history's one thing, but an alien planet!"

"To be fair," Jordan added, less concerned now that they knew what was happening, "we're from the alien planet to the ones we consider aliens."

"Yeah, I suppose," she conceded. "But this is barmy! I was born in Chiswick. I've only ever done package holidays. And now I'm here."

"I could always take you home," the Doctor offered.

"Yeah, pull the other one," Donna scoffed.

"I get what you mean though," he said. "Everything you're feeling right now. The fear, the joy, the wonder, I get that! Me and them."

He nodded over to Jordan who gave a small wave. The Doctor beckoned them over, and they followed. He slipped an arm around them.

Jordan froze at the simple action, a tell that this was something that the Doctor was used to. They shivered at the touch, an ache that they had resolutely pushed away most of their life had came back a vengeance.

"Seriously? After all this time?" Donna asked, ignoring the two.

"Yeah. Why do you think I- _we_ keep going?"

"I'm just here for the ride, really," Jordan shrugged, and the Doctor squeezed them to his body.

"Oh! All right then, you and me both! This is so... I mean it's... I don't know, it's all sort of, I don't know what the word is!"

She opened the TARDIS doors and stepped out, "I've got the word. Freezing!"

Jordan laughed, but they shivered when the cold reached them. "God, I need a jacket."

The Doctor reached around them back into the TARDIS. In his hands was a leather jacket, and he handed it to them.

"You left it here the last time you popped in, said that you would need it. I can see that you were right."

They grabbed the jacket from his hands, the jacket fitting just right and warming them up, "I'm always right, but now that just means that I have to remember this moment."

"I'm sure you can handle it. But look, snow! Aw, real snow!" the Doctor cheered when he walked outside, arm still casually around Jordan. "Proper snow at last! That's more like it, lovely. What do you think?"

"Bit cold," Donna shivered, and the Doctor turned back to the tundra.

"Look at that view!" he gushed, arm tightening around Jordan. They looked around the place in awe, their first time experiencing real snow.

"Yep. Beautiful, _cold_ view," Donna said, emphasizing the word cold.

The Doctor didn't seem to notice her discomfort, and Jordan caught her eye. They used their hands to pantomime ushering her away, and she took the hint.

"Millions of planets, millions of galaxies and we're on this one. Molto bene! Bellissimo! Says Donna. Born in Chiswick. All you've got is a life of work and sleep, and telly and rent and tax and takeaway dinners, all... birthdays and Christmases and two weeks holiday here, and then you end up here! Donna Noble. Citizen of the Earth, standing on a different planet. How 'bout that, Donna?"

He asked and looked back at TARDIS where Donna used to stand.

"Donna?"

Jordan shook their head in amusement as she came out in a big fluffy coat with a huge hood, "Sorry, you were saying?"

"Better?" he asked, amused, raising his eyebrow.

"Lovely, thanks."

"Comfy?" he eyed the jacket.

"Yep," she beamed.

"Can you hear anything inside that?"

Donna stood there, smiling, "Pardon?"

And Jordan let out a loud laugh, unable to contain themself at the two and their banters.

"Oh my god! You guys remind me of when Ke-" they broke off, sobering at the reminder of their best friend, who they had left behind.

Fortunately, a large rocket flew over head, catching the other two's attention. Jordan internally sighed in relief, and they pushed all thoughts of Kennedy and their parents away.

"Rocket!" Donna looked on in awe. "Blimey, a real proper rocket. Now that's what I call a spaceship. You've got a box; he's got a Ferrari! Come on, let's go see where it's going!"

The Doctor made a squeak of offence as Donna rushed after it. He looked back at the TARDIS, pride wounded.

Jordan sniggered at his offended face, and the Doctor gave them a wounded look. "Traitor! How can you compare _that_ to the TARDIS?"

"I'm not," Jordan rolled their eyes. "But I am enjoying your offended face." They patted his cheek and followed after Donna.

"Hey!"

They heard him jog up next to them. "You can't really think that the TARDIS is just a box, can you?"

Jordan fixed him with a scrutinizing look, brown eyes squinting at him that made him squirm.

Several moments passed and they had reached Donna when they answered, "Nope, but I do enjoy pulling your leg. You get this delightfully scrunched up face, and it is hilarious."

He pouted, "You can't seriously enjoy just that, can you?"

"Donna, don't you think the Doctor's indignant face is hilarious?" they asked in lieu of an answer.

"Absolutely," Donna didn't hesitate in answering, and that made the Doctor frown more.

The two of them shared a laugh as the Doctor pouted before he suddenly straightened, pausing and looking out into the winter landscape intently.

"What?" Jordan asked, "what're you looking at?" They looked around, only seeing tufts of snow surrounding them.

"Can you hear that?" the Doctor asked, craning his head around. Jordan stayed silent, closing their eyes and trying to hear what he was hearing.

"Donna, take your hood down!" the Doctor said louder.

"What?" Donna asked, bewildered.

"That- that noise, like a song," he said, entranced. He let go of Jordan, trying to find the source.

"Over there!" the Doctor cried, rushing forward. Jordan was quick to follow, and they found the body on the ground.

"What is it?" Donna asked, and Jordan was slightly relieved that they weren't the only one confused.

"An Ood. He's called an Ood," the Doctor explained.

"But its face," Donna said, slightly disgusted.

"Don't, Donna," Jordan piped up when the Doctor made to say something.

"He's a he, don't demean him by calling him it."

"Sorry," she said, properly chastised.

"Give me a hand," the Doctor said.

"Right," Donna knelt by the Ood as the Doctor examined him with a stethoscope.

Jordan hovered over the three of them, unsure how to proceed. They settled on, standing protectively over the three.

"I don't know where the heart is," the Doctor said, slightly panicked. "I don't know if he's _got_ a heart."

Jordan put a comforting hand on his shoulder and he took a deep breath, addressing Donna, "Talk to him, keep him going."

"It's all right, we've got you," Donna cooed. "Um, what's your name?"

"Designated Ood Delta 50," he said weakly from the translator.

Donna picked up his translator ball, talking into it like into a microphone, "My name's Donna."

"No, no, no, no" the Doctor rushed out, correcting her. "You don't need to…."

"Sorry," She apologized, still at a loss for words and trying to find out what to say. "Oh, God! This is the Doctor! Just what you need, a doctor. Couldn't be better, ey?"

"You've been shot," the Doctor said, uncovering the wound. Jordan winced, hiding their gaze into the Doctor's shoulder.

"The circle…" he rasped.

"No, don't try to talk," Donna shushed.

"The circle must be broken," the Ood said anyway.

"Circle?" the Doctor asked, intrigued. "What d'you mean? Delta 50, what circle? Delta 50? What circle?"

Delta 50 suddenly sat up, roaring, eyes glowing red. The three jumped back, surprised. Then he collapsed, dead.

"He's- he's gone," Donna said, shocked. She went back and knelt beside the body. Jordan buried their face in the Doctor's back, feeling tears start to fall.

"Careful," the Doctor warned.

"There you are, sweetheart," She stroked the Ood's head. "We were too late. What do we do, do we bury him?"

"The snow will take care of that," the Doctor said, carefully helping Jordan and standing up.

"Who was he? What's an Ood?" Donna asked.

"They're servants, of humans in the 42nd century. Mildly telepathic, that was the... song. It's his mind calling out."

"Couldn't hear anything," Donna stood up. "He sang as he was dying."

"His eyes turned red," the Doctor said, slipping his arm around Jordan once again, comforting them.

"What's that mean?"

"Trouble," Jordan said darkly for the first time.

The Doctor nodded, "Come on."

The three walked away, as the Doctor started, "The Ood are harmless. They're completely benign. Except, the last time we met them, there was this force, like a... stronger mind, powerful enough to take them over."

Jordan made a mental note when he said that they had met them.

"What sort of force?"

"Yeah, long story," the Doctor evaded, sounding as if he didn't want to talk about it.

"Long walk," Donna countered, stuffing her hands into her pocket.

"It was the Devil," he said flippantly, but Jordan felt him tightening his grip around their waist. They offered a small squeeze around his waist in support as well before dropping their hand.

The Doctor relaxed slightly, loosening his shoulders.

"If you're gonna take the mickey, I'll just put my hood back up," Donna huffed.

"Must be something different this time, though. Something closer to home."

The three climbed to a rock and behind, they saw buildings.

"Aha! Civilisation!" the Doctor cried, and the three sprinted into a run.

They arrived running toward a group of reps.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry!" the Doctor apologized, slightly out of breath. "Late. Don't mind us. Hello! The guards let us through."

"And you would be?" a young woman with a clipboard asked.

The Doctor showed the slip of paper again, Jordan couldn't help but peek at it again. It was still blank, but the Doctor continued on as if there was something on it, "The Doctor, Jordan Smith and Donna Noble."

"Representing the Noble Corporation PLC Limited, Intergalactic," Donna jumped in.

The woman consulted her clipboard, "Must have fallen off my list, my apologies. Won't happen again. Now then, Dr Smith, Mrs Smith, Ms Noble-"

Jordan cringed at being misgendered, folding in on themself. They didn't seem to notice that she had said the Doctor and they were married.

The Doctor was quick to correct her, "No, no, no, no, no. Jordan isn't a woman, they go by they/them pronouns. Kindly refer to them as Mx."

The woman looked at him in surprise, eyes flicking to Jordan, "Er- right, of course. I'm sorry about that Mx Smith."

Jordan shook their head, offering a small smile in thanks, and she coughed, turning her attention away.

"And here are your information packs, vouchers inside. Now if you'd like to come with me, the Executive Suites are nice and warm."

An alarm started to wail, and the Doctor looked up and around, "Oh, what's that? That sounds like an alarm."

* * *

"Mr Kess," a man said over the intercom, "what the hell's going on?"

"Ood on the loose, sir," Mr Kess replied. "Looks like we've got another one.

"Red-eye?"

"As red as sin, sir. Don't worry, Mr Halpen, we're on it." Mr Kess took his hand off the receiver as the Ood ran across the yard.

"Sir!" a guard yelled.

" All right then, lads," Mr Kess barked out, "go get him!"

* * *

Jordan rolled their eyes, elbowing him slightly, "'That sounds like an alarm' he says. Could it be because it _is_ an alarm?"

"Ha ha, didn't think about that. Thanks for pointing it out," the Doctor deadpanned, rubbing the offending bruise.

"Oh, it's just a…" the woman was quick to interfere, "siren, for the end of the work shift. Now then, this way, quick as you can!"

Jordan tilted their head in confusion as she quickly led them away. "Um, what's your name?"

The woman looked surprised to be addressed so directly, "Solana." Solana turned away just as quickly as she answered.

"As you can see," Solana said, waving her hand up to the big screen above, "the Ood are happy to serve, and we keep them in facilities of the highest standard. Here at the Double O, that's Ood Operations, we like to think of the Ood as our trusted friends."

* * *

Outside, the guards, carrying huge guns, were still chasing a loose Ood.

"He's over there! You two follow me!"

* * *

Jordan gave her a dubious look, eyes narrowing. "This doesn't feel right."

The Doctor nodded at their statement, "We'll get to the bottom of it."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

"We keep the Ood healthy, safe, and educated."

* * *

"Take him alive!"

* * *

"We don't just breed the Ood. We make them better. Because at heart, what is an Ood, but a reflection of us? If your Ood is happy, then you'll be happy, too."

Jordan shivered at Solana's wording, a horrid feeling creeping up. They rubbed their arms at the lack of warmth, and the Doctor tugged them tighter around him.

* * *

The Ood turned to face the guards, not attacking, just growling, raging.

"Mr Halpen," Mr Kess said, "this is a bit more than red-eye, sir. This is something new. It's rabid, sir."

"Take it to Dr Ryder," Mr Halpin ordered. "Just get it out of sight!"

A voice over the intercom informed Mr Halpin, "Sales figures needed by 19,00 sir."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," He dismissed, going over to the mirror, examining his head.

To his Ood, "What do you think? Growing back? Just a little bit? Like you'd know!"

* * *

"I'd now like to point out a new innovation from Ood Operations," Solana smiled benignly. "We've introduced a variety package with the Ood translator ball. You can now have the Standard Setting."

She addressed the first Ood, "How are you today, Ood?"

"I'm perfectly well, thank you."

"Or perhaps, after a stressful day, a little something for the gentlemen." Solana turned to the second Ood, "And how are you, Ood?"

The second Ood replied in a sultry, female voice, "All the better for seeing you."

Jordan shivered at the voice, blanching.

"And the comedy classic option," Solana said to Ood 3. "Ood, you dropped something."

The third Ood said in a familiar voice, "Doh!"

The reps laughed, and Jordan squirmed uncomfortably at the laughter, "Homer Simpson, the epitome of comedy."

The Doctor hid a grin at their remark in their curly hair, only saying, "Businessmen," and Jordan didn't bother hiding their smirk.

"All that for only five additional credits. The details are in your brochures. Now, there's plenty more food and drink, so, don't hold back."

Solana left, and the Doctor went to the control board and brings the picture of the solar system to the big screen, "Ah, got it! The Ood-Sphere, I've been to this solar system before, years ago, ages! Close to the planet Sense-Sphere. Let's widen out."

The picture widened out, "The year 4126. That is the Second Great and Bountiful Human Empire."

"4126. It's 4126," Donna said, the entirety of the situation hitting her for the first time. "I'm in 4126."

"It's good, isn't it?" the Doctor grinned at her, an arm loosely twined around Jordan.

"What's the Earth like now?"

"Bit full," he shrugged. "But you see, the Empire stretches out across three galaxies."

"It's weird," she said. "I mean, it's brilliant, but... Back home, the papers and the telly, they keep saying we haven't got long to live. Global warming. Flooding. All the bees disappearing."

"That's global warming." Jordan said matter of factly.

"Yeah," the Doctor nodded, "that thing about the bees is odd."

"But look at us!" Donna exclaimed, spreading her arms out. "We're everywhere. Is that good or bad, though? I mean, are we like explorers? Or more like a virus?"

"Sometimes I wonder."

"Definitely a virus."

Donna examined the picture on the screen, "What are the red dots?"

"Ood distribution centres," the Doctor answered promptly. Jordan couldn't help the pit forming in their stomach the more they hear about the place.

"Across three galaxies? Don't the Ood get a say in this?" She asked, slightly disgusted. She walked to the Ood standing nearest. "Um, sorry, but…."

He didn't seem to notice her, so she touched his shoulder to get his attention, "Hello. Tell me, are you all like this?"

"I do not understand, Miss," he said.

"Why do you say "Miss"," Donna asked, indignant. "Do I look single?"

"Donna," Jordan groaned as the Doctor said, "Back to the point. "

"Right, yeah. What I mean is, are there any free Ood? Are there Ood running wild somewhere? Like wood beast."

"All Ood are born to serve. Otherwise, we would die," the Ood said simply, and Jordan frowned in concern.

"But you can't have started like that. Before the humans, what were you like?"

The Ood seemed confused, "The circle"

The Doctor leaned closer, "What do you mean, what circle?"

The Ood struggled to speak, "The circ... the circle... is... "

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Solana interrupted with a bright smile. "All Ood to hospitality stations, please. "

"I've had enough of the schmoozing," the Doctor clapped his hands together. "Do you fancy going off the beaten track?"

Solana's voice in the background, "Now, if I can introduce you…"

Donna had a smirk on her face, "Rough guide to the Ood-Sphere? Works for me!"

"And you?" the Doctor asked Jordan.

Jordan grinned, feeling excitement bubble up inside them, "And we're off!"

* * *

The Doctor, concentrating on the map, went past a door, but Donna stopped him with a loud whistle. He stopped in his tracks, staring at Donna in shock, "Where'd you learn to whistle?"

"West Ham," she smirked, "every Saturday."

He used the sonic to open the door, leading to a huge hangar, filled with containers. They saw a giant claw lifting and transporting the containers.

"Ood export," the Doctor commented. "D'you see? Lifts up the containers, takes them to the rocket sheds, ready to be flown out, all over the three galaxies."

"What, you mean, these containers are full of...?" Donna's face was disgusted at the thought, and Jordan shivered in kind, pulling their jacket around them.

"What do you think?" He opened the door on one container. Inside, it was filled with Ood, just standing there, motionless.

Donna was horrified, "Oh, it stinks! How many of them d'you think there are in each one?"

"Hundred?" the Doctor shrugged, disgusted. "More?"

"A great big empire, built on slavery," Donna scorned the picture in front of her.

"It's not so different from your time."

"Oi!" Donna cried, offended. "I haven't got slaves!"

"Who d'you think made your clothes?" he commented with a side look. Jordan elbowed him in the stomach, and he hissed in pain.

He gave them a look, and Jordan responded in kind. " _Apologize,_ " they hissed.

"Is that why you travel round with a human at your side?" Donna demanded, a hard look on her face. "It's not so you can show them the wonders of the universe, it's so you can take cheap shots?"

"Sorry," he muttered barely apologetic.

"You're not. Spaceman, she shook her head before turning to the Ood. "I don't understand, the door is open, why don't you just run away?"

"For what reason?" an Ood asked.

"You could be free," Donna said, as if the concept of not being free complexes her.

"I do not understand the concept."

"What is it with that Persil ball?" Donna asked toward the Doctor. "I mean, they're not born with it, are they? Why do they have to be all plugged in?"

The Doctor took over, commanding, "Ood, tell me, does "the circle" mean anything to you?"

Suddenly all the Ood started to speak, "The circle must be broken."

Jordan shook their head vehemently, "Nope, nope I am not into this. Oh my god, this is just like a horror movie."

"Whoa, that is creepy!" Donna exclaimed.

"But what is it?" the Doctor pressed on, ignoring the unanimous speaking. "What is the circle?"

'The circle must be broken."

"Why?"

"So that we can sing."

"Mr Halpen?" a man's voice suddenly piped up, and Jordan liked up to see him talking into a device. 'I'm in Ood Cargo, I've found your unwanted guests. Go!"

He sounded an alarm, and the Doctor looked up, mildly inconvenienced, "Oh, that's us! Come on!"

The Doctor grabbed Jordan's hand, and they were pulled in his grasp into a full sprint.

The three of them ran between the containers, and Donna stopped, "Doctor, Jordan, there's a door!"

Jordan skidded to a stop, but the guards were coming in right through that door, a guard pointed a gun at the two of them, "Don't move…."

"Stay where you are," the guard warned the two. They jumped and caught Donna, pushing her into a container before quickly doing the same to Jordan.

"Get off me! Get your hands off of them!"

"Donna, calm down," Jordan tried to calm her down. "We're alright, maybe a bit stuck, but eh, the company's not so bad."

Donna huffed, an unwilling smile gracing her lips. She turned to the Ood with them, "Can you help us?"

Before she noticed that their eyes were glowing red, "Oh, no, you don't! What have I done? I'm not one of that lot. I'm on your side! Stay where you are. That's an order! I said, stay! Doctor! DOCTOR!"

"Doctor, get me out! Doctor, get me out of here!"

"Donna, please," Jordan pleaded. "The Doctor will get here, if he knows what's good for him."

"Ooh," the Doctor winced. "You should really listen to what they say. Last time I didn't, I spent a night in in the Amazon Forest. And if you don't do what _she_ says then you're really in trouble. Not from me, from her."

The man with the Doctor glanced at the container containing a still angry Donna before making a decision, "Unlock the container!"

The doors opened, and Donna ran to hug the Doctor who gladly returned the hug.

"Doctor!"

Jordan walked out leisurely, imperceptible to all with their cool demeanor that they were trembling.

"There we go, safe and sound," the Doctor patted her back as Jordan joined the hugging pair. They slipped a trembling hand into the Doctor's, squeezing hard.

"Never mind about me, what about them?!" Donna let go and waved behind her.

The Ood were marching out of the container. They electrocuted the guard who stood by the door.

"Red alert! Fire!" the other man cried.

More containers opened with even more red-eyed Ood attacking.

"Shoot to kill!" The guards started to fire, and the three took that as their cue to run off the building, followed by Solana.

They stopped a bit further. "If people back on Earth... knew what was going on here…" Donna started.

Jordan made a snort of derision as Solana scoffed, "Oh, don't be so stupid. Of course they know."

"They know how you treat the Ood?" Donna asked, aghast.

"They don't ask," Solana shrugged, "same thing."

"Solana," the Doctor tried to get her to understand, "the Ood aren't born like this, they can't be. A species born to serve could never evolve in the first place. What does the company do to make them obey?"

"That's nothing to do with me!" Solana was quick to disprove.

"Oh what, cos you don't ask?" Jordan asked rhetorically, derision clear in in their tone.

"That's Dr Ryder's territory," Solana said, throwing a dirty look at them.

"Where is he? What part of the complex? I could help, with the red-eye, now show me!"

Solana huffed and pointed up at the map, "There. Beyond the red section."

"Come with me," the Doctor pleaded. "You've seen the warehouse, you can't agree with all this. You know this place better than me, you could help."

It was clear that Solana was conflicted about it for a few seconds, but finally decided to stay loyal to the company.

"They're over here! Guards! They're over here!"

"Male and female suspects escaped. Westridge corridor."

* * *

Over the intercom, Solana's voice said, "Mr Halpen, I found the Doctor. He's heading for Ood Conversion."

"On my way," Mr Halpen replied before switching over to another com and saying, "Mr Kess, what's the situation?"

'We've contained it, sir," Mr Kess replied, slightly out of breath, "fenced them in. But the red-eye seems to be permanent this time, it's not fading. Worse than that, sir... there's more of them going rabid. My opinion, sir, I think we've lost them. The entire batch contaminated."

"What's causing it? Why now? What's changed?" Absentmindedly, he stroked his own head and looked horrified at the bunch of hair that's stayed in his hand.

"How many Ood, in total?" Halpen demanded.

"I'd say about 2,000, sir."

"We can write them off," Halpen said, an idea coming forth, "that's what insurance is for. Drink! We've plenty more on the breeding farms, let's start again."

He took a gulp of his drink, "Fetch the canisters. No survivors."

"My pleasure, sir," Mr Kess smiled before addressing other people. "You lot, canisters!"

* * *

The Doctor, Jordan and Donna were running from two guards.

"This way!" the Doctor shouted, and they arrived at another door.

"Oh, can you hear it?" the Doctor asked, awed. "I didn't need the map, I should've listened."

They went inside, then he used the sonic to lock the door.

"Hold on," Donna started. "Does that mean we're locked in?"

The Doctor shushed her, "Listen. Listen, listen, listen, listen…." Eerie music sounded, echoing ethereally throughout the room.

"Oh, my head!" he groaned, and Jordan put a solidarity hand on his shoulder.

"What is it?" Donna asked.

"Can't you hear it? The singing?"

They saw a cage with several Ood inside. These seemed shy, trying to hide from them.

"They look different from the others."

"They aren't like the others. They're from before," Jordan said, taking their hand off the Doctor's shoulder.

The Doctor nodded, "Before they're adapted to slavery, they're natural-born Ood, unprocessed. Unspoilt. They go to the cage, and that's their song."

"I can't hear it," Donna said, and Jordan nodded in agreement.

He gave her a look, "D'you want to?"

Donna swallowed, "Yeah."

The Doctor said with warning, "It's the song of captivity."

"Let me hear it," Donna was firm in her decision. He glanced at Jordan who shook their head, and he nodded in understanding.

"Face me," he commanded Donna, and he put his hands to her head, "Open your mind, that's it. Hear it, Donna. Hear the music."

Tears started to fall as the Doctor kept up the connection and she out, "Take it away!"

He concentrated again, stopping her from hearing the telepathic singing.

"I'm sorry," Donna said, teary-eyed and voice wobbly.

"It's OK," he said softly, looking at Jordan whose face was turned away, barely there tear tracks etched onto their cheeks.

"But you can still hear it?" Donna asked as Jordan slipped their hand back into the Doctor's.

He looked down at Jordan, a flash of pain crossing his face, "All the time."

* * *

"Come on, what's the hold-up?" Mr Halpen demanded.

"It's the experimentation lab, maximum security," Dr Ryder said slightly frustrated, "he's fused the system."

"Well don't just stand there then, get the bolt-cutters, rip that door off! Solana, go back to the reps, I don't want any of them wandering off and seeing this. And get them away from the Ood, just in case. Hurry up!" Halpen barked.

"Yes, sir," Solana nodded, scurrying away.

* * *

The Doctor used the sonic to open the cage of the Ood, loud thuds sounding from the door.

"They're breaking in," Donna said, worried.

"Ah, let them," the Doctor dismissed. He went into the cage. The Ood were trying to get as far from him as possible.

"What are you holding? Show me. Friend. Doctor. Donna. Friend. Jordan. Friend. Let me see... Look at me... Let me see," he coaxed and one of them crept closer.

"That's it. That's it, go on. Go on…"The Ood opened his palms, showing the small brain he was hiding.

Jordan gasped, and Donna looked on, disturbed, "Is that...?"

"It's a brain. A hindbrain. The Ood are born with a secondary brain. Like the amygdala in humans, it processes memory and emotions," the Doctor explained. "You get rid of that, you wouldn't be Donna any more. You'd be like an Ood, a processed Ood."

Understanding finally hit Donna, and she gasped in shock, "So the company... cuts off their brains?"

"And they stitch on the translator!" the Doctor growled out angrily. Jordan bit down on their tongue, fingers digging into the palms of their hands.

"Like a lobotomy," Donna shook her head, terribly shaken. "I spent all that time looking for you, Doctor, because I thought it would be so wonderful out here... I want to go home."

With a final loud thud, the door is opened, "They're with the Ood, sir."

The Doctor closed the door of the cage, locking the three inside with the Ood.

"What're you gonna do, then? Arrest me? Lock me up? Throw me in a cage? Well, you're too late! Hah!"

Jordan sighed as the guards easily opened the cage.

The Doctor, Jordan and Donna were taken back to the main building, and handcuffed to some pipes.

"Why don't you just come out and say it?" Mr Halpen demanded. "FOTO activists!"

"If that's what Friends Of The Ood are trying to prove, yes!" the Doctor spat out, disgusted by the man in front of him.

"The Ood were nothing without us," Mr Halpen dismissed his anger, "just animals roaming around on the ice."

"That's because you can't hear them."

"They welcomed it!" Mr Halpen cried out. "It's not as if they put up a fight."

"You idiot!" Donna snarled. "They're born with their brains in their hands. Don't you see, that makes them peaceful! They've got to be, cos a creature like that would have to trust anyone it meets."

"Donna, you are amazing," Jordan complimented.

"Oh, nice one," the Doctor agreed.

"Thank you!" she said.

"The system's worked for 200 years. All we've got is a rogue batch," Mr Halpen shrugged. "But the infection is about to be sterilised."

Over the intercom, Halpen spoke, "Mr Kess? How do we stand?"

"Canisters primed, sir," As soon as the core heated up, the gas was released. "Give it 200 marks," he started the countdown, "and counting."

Jordan inhaled sharply as they realized what the men were going to do, hate bubbling inside them at the heinous actions.

"You're gonna gas them?!" the Doctor exclaimed in shock.

"Kill the livestock," Halpen shrugged, as if not realizing the depth of his actions. "The classic foot-and-mouth solution from the olden days. Still works."

The natural Ood in the cage lifted their palms up, starting to sing; the red-eyed ones followed their example.

* * *

Solana was talking to the reps, "I'm sorry, if I could ask you one more time, could all the reps please come through to the Education Suites."

One of the reps, obviously drunk, "Why move now? It's a free bar!"

"Could I ask all the Ood to withdraw," Solana tried a different tactic, "it's feeding time."

The Oods in there heard the singing and bowed their heads in pain.

"Aw! You've upset them," the rep pouted, Leave them alone!"

"I have to insist. If all the Ood could please leave…."

The Ood looked up, eyes turned red.

"Ladies and gentlemen, change of plan," Solana's voice trembled in fear. "If you could leave by the fire exits…."

"I could sell this!" the still drunk rep exclaimed, oblivious to the danger in the room. "You could offer different colours."

An Ood electrocuted him with the translator ball. They started to kill off the other reps.

Solana ran out to the yard, only to find more red-eyed Ood and the guards trying to fight them.

"They've gone insane, Miss, they've gone mad, all of them!" the guard yelled.

"Just shoot them!" Solana cried out, terrified. "Shoot to kill!"

She ran, trying to escape but got killed by an Ood coming from a different direction.

* * *

An alarm wailed.

"What the hell?" Halpen asked, looking up confusedly. He left with Dr Ryder to see what was happening outside.

Mr Kess was still in the cargo hall, checking the device that should gas the Ood.

"What's going on out there?" Kess asked. The door opened and red-eyed Ood enter the hangar.

A computerized voice boomed from the loudspeakers, "Emergency status. Emergency status. All exits sealed."

"It's a revolution," Dr Ryder breathed out.

The yard was filled with guards and Ood fighting.

Mr Halpen and Dr Ryder watched, shocked, then headed back inside.

"Come back!" Mr Kess cried out desperately. "Let me out of here!"

The Ood had him locked in a cage without a gas mask, choking to death as the gas slowly leaked into the cage.

* * *

"What's happening?" the Doctor asked immediately when the other two men walked in, somehow still looking composed.

"Everything you wanted, Doctor," Halpen said. "No doubt there'll be a full police investigation once this place has been sterilised, so I can't risk a bullet to the head. I'll leave you to the mercies of the Ood."

"But Mr Halpen, there's something else, isn't there?" the Doctor asked, glancing over at the Ood by Halpen's side. "Something we haven't seen!"

"What d'you mean?" Donna asked, and Jordan hummed their confusion. They didn't pay attention to the conversation happening in front of them, words coming in here and there.

They focused on getting the Bobby pin sewed to the back of their pants, glad that they didn't change them and that they were paranoid enough to keep it there.

Ripping the pin out of the sewed section, they bent the pin in half, inserting it into the handcuffs.

Jordan hummed as the conversation kept going, one cuff quietly popping off.

"A creature couldn't survive with a separate forebrain and hindbrain," the Doctor explained, "they'd be at war with themselves. There's got to be something else, a third element, am I right?"

"And again, so clever!" Halpen praised mockingly.

"But it's got to be connected to the red-eye, what is it?"

"'It' won't exist for very much longer. Enjoy your Ood," Halpen said.

He left followed by Dr Ryder, his Ood and the two guards. The Doctor and Donna tried to get their hands free.

"Come on!" The Doctor cried, frustrated.

"Well, do something! You're the one with all the tricks! You must've met Houdini!"

"These are really good handcuffs!" the Doctor protested.

"Oh, well I'm glad of that. I mean, at least we've got quality!" Donna snarked.

Jordan's second cuff popped off with a click as the door opened and three red-eyed Ood came in.

Jordan stretched out their hands in front of them as the Doctor and Donna tried to speak to to the Ood.

"Doctor, Donna, Jordan, friends."

"Guys," Jordan tried to intervene, but Donna interrupted with a desperate yell.

"The circle must be broken!"

"Doctor, Donna, Jordan, friends!"

"The circle must be broken!"

"I'm already free-"

"Doctor, Donna, Jordan, friends!"

"The circle must be broken!"

"Friends, friends, friends!"

"Oh for God's sake!" Jordan said, exasperated. They stood up, moving toward the cage.

The red-eyed Oods stopped advancing, as the natural Ood stood up and lifted their palms, sending a message to the three menacing the Doctor, Jordan and Donna.

Those three bowed their heads, and when the Doctor and Donna looked up again, the red-eye is gone.

"Doctor. Donna. Jordan. Friends," the Ood intoned serenely.

"Yes! That's us! Friends! Oh, yes!" Donna and the Doctor cried out in relief.

"Aww, you guys are sweet," Jordan cooed, standing by the cage. "I'm sorry, I can't get you out."

"Jordan!" the other two cried out in surprise.

"When did you unlock your cuffs?" The Doctor asked.

"Right after Donna snapped at you," they shrugged.

"Well why didn't you say anything?" Donna asked.

They shook their head with a smile.

* * *

The Doctor, Jordan and Donna looked around on the yard that was a real battlefield, guns rattled, people shouted, fires everywhere.

"I don't know where it is!" the Doctor exclaimed. "I don't know where they've gone!"

"What are we looking for?" Donna asked.

"Might be underground, like some sort of cave, or a cavern, or…"

"Warehouse 15," a computer said. "Door open."

The Doctor, Jordan and Donna were thrown to the ground by an explosion. The Doctor twisted, grabbing Jordan and protectively holding them in his arms.

"All right?" he looked to Donna when the shaking stopped.

She nodded, and they stood up, the Doctor's arm wrapped around Jordan protectively.

As they looked up, they see an Ood watching them. They made eye contact, heading up toward the Ood.

He lead the Doctor, Jordan and Donna to Warehouse 15.

The Doctor opened the door with the sonic. They got inside and stopped by the balustrade, watching the thing below: a giant brain.

"The Ood Brain," the Doctor said, an air of understanding reaching him. "Now it all makes sense, that's the missing link, the third element, binding them together. Forebrain, hindbrain, and this, the telepathic centre. It's a shared mind, connecting all the Ood in song."

"Cargo," said a voice behind them. The three turned around, two familiar men standing by the door, Halpen pointing a gun at them, "I can always go into cargo. I've got the rockets, I've got the sheds. Smaller business, much more manageable, without livestock."

"He's mined the area," Ryder said.

"They're gonna kill it?" Donna asked.

"They found that- that... thing," Halpen waved the gun at the Brain, "centuries ago beneath the Northern Glacier."

"Those pylons," the Doctor noted.

"In a circle," Donna finished, "'The circle must be broken.'"

"Damping the telepathic field. Stopping the Ood from connecting for 200 years," the Doctor said with disgust. Jordan narrowed their eyes at the men in front of them, a snarl on their face.

"And you, Ood Sigma," Halpen addressed the Ood, "you brought them here. I expected better."

"My place is at your side, sir," the Ood said evenly.

"Ha-ha!" Halpen cheered. "Still subservient. Good Ood."

"If that barrier thing's in place, how come the Ood started breaking out?" Donna pointed out.

"Maybe it's taken centuries to adapt," the Doctor mused. "The subconscious reaching out."

"But the process was too slow. Had to be accelerated," Dr Ryder said. "You should never have given me access to those controls, Mr Halpen. I lowered the barrier to its minimum. Friends Of The Ood, sir. It's taken me ten years to infiltrate the company. And I succeeded."

"Yes. Yes, you did," Halpen smiled darkly and Jordan felt something in them that told them to lunge.

Halpen pushed Ryder but Jordan had already lunged, pulling Ryder to his feet while simultaneously pushing Halpen away.

Halpen stumbled back unsteadily, gun cocked at Jordan.

"You were going to kill him," Donna said, shocked.

"Very observant, Ginger," Halpen jeered. "Now, then... can't say I've ever shot anyone before. Can't say I'm gonna like it. But it's not exactly a normal day, is it? Still…"

"Would you like a drink, sir?" The Ood asked as the Doctor's glare started to intensify.

"I think hair loss is the least of my problems right now, thanks."

The Ood stepped between Jordan and Mr Halpen.

"Please have a drink, sir," he insisted.

"If…" Halpen swallowed, "if you're going to stand in their way, I'll shoot you too."

"Please have a drink, sir."

Colour drained from Mr Halpen's face, "Have... Have you... poisoned me?"

"Natural Ood must never kill, sir," he replied, a hint of smugness in his tone.

Halpen, successfully distracted, lowered his gun slightly, and Jordan took that as their chance, ushering Dr Ryder to the Doctor.

"What is that stuff?" The Doctor asked, pulling Jordan behind him.

"Ood-graft suspended in a biological compound, sir," and the Ood's face somehow portrayed the smugness his voice held.

"What the hell does that mean?!" Halpen demanded, terror causing his voice to tremble.

"Oh, dear…" the Doctor said.

"Tell me!" Halpen barked.

"Funny thing, the subconscious," the Doctor said calmly. "Takes all sorts of shapes. Came out in the red-eye as revenge. Came out in the rabid Ood as anger. And then, there was patience. All that intelligence and mercy, focused on Ood Sigma. How's the hair loss, Mr Halpen?"

As Halpen touched his head, another bunch of hair came out in his hand.

"What have you done?" Halpen asked, shaking in fear.

"Oh, they've been preparing you for a very long time," the Doctor said, walking forward slightly. "And now you're standing next to the Ood Brain. Mr Halpen, can you hear it? Listen…."

"What have you...?" Halpen choked out. "I'm... not...!"

He dropped the gun and bowed forward, then grabbed the skin on his head. He peeled it off, revealing an Ood scull below.

Tentacles came out of his mouth and he completely turned into an Ood.

"They... They turned him into an Ood?!" Donna said, shocked. Jordan turned slightly green at the transformation.

"Yep," the Doctor popped the word.

"He's an Ood," Donna repeated, dumbstruck.

"I noticed."

The former Halpen seemed to make a sneezing action, and a small hindbrain fell into his hands.

"He has become Oodkind. And we will take care of him."

"It's weird, being with you, I can't tell what's right and what's wrong anymore," Donna said softly, trying to comprehend the situation.

"It's better that way," the Doctor reassured, squeezing Jordan's hand. "People who know for certain tend to be like Mr Halpen."

The detonators started beeping.

"Ooh!" He twisted something to switch them off. "That's better. And now... Sigma, would you allow me the honour?"

"It is yours, Doctor," Sigma said graciously.

He went to the controls to turn off the electric field around the brain gleefully, "Oh, yes! Stifled for 200 years, but not any more. The circle is broken. The Ood can sing!"

A beautiful, joyous song began, and the Doctor laughed, swinging Jordan around gleefully.

Donna was delighted, "I can hear it!"

Dr Ryder sidled up next to Jordan, "Thank you," he said quietly, "for saving me."

Jordan shook their head, "It was nothing."

"It was," he insisted. Ryder nodded his head to the scene in front of them. "If I had died, I would've gone out for a cause I believed in, but would never know if I succeeded, truly succeeded."

"Life is worth saving," Jordan said softly. "Even if some people don't see it as that."

Dr Ryder stayed quiet, watching as the Oods everywhere stopped fighting. They stood in circles, lifting their palms and joining the song.

* * *

The Doctor, Jordan and Donna stood near the TARDIS, accompanied by several Oods including Sigma.

"The message has gone out," the Doctor said. "That song resonated across the galaxies, everyone heard it. Everyone knows. The rockets are bringing them back. The Ood are coming home."

"We thank you, Doctor Donna and Jordan. Friends of Oodkind," Sigma lowered his head in thanks. "And what of you now, will you stay? There is room in the song for you."

"Oh, I've... I've sort of got a song of my own, thanks," the Doctor's eyes flickered over to Jordan.

"I think your song must end soon," Sigma said.

"Meaning?" the Doctor raised an eyebrow, hands twitching. Jordan held out their hand, and the Doctor relaxed as he started to fiddle with their fingers.

"Every song must end," Sigma said sagely.

"Yeah," the Doctor agreed awkwardly before turning to Donna. "Erm, what about you? You still want to go home?"

No," she shook her head emphatically. "Definitely not."

"We'll be of, then," the Doctor said.

"Take this song with you," Sigma said as the Ood lifted their palms and started singing.

"We will," Donna said gently.

"Always," Jordan and the Doctor said just as softly.

"And know this, Doctor Donna and Jordan," Sigma intoned deeply. "You will never be forgotten. Our children will sing of the Doctor Donna, and our children's children. And the wind and the ice and the snow will carry your names forever."

* * *

Jordan stepped out of the shower, toweling their hair dry.

They walked out of the bathroom only to find the Doctor sitting on their bed, Anubis in his lap and petting the cat.

"Er, hey Doctor," Jordan greeted awkwardly, unsure with what to do. Their hand slowly lowered from their position in their hair, wrapping around their shoulders.

"Jordan," he said softly, still petting Anubis.

"So," they started awkwardly, "you're acquainted with Anubis?"

"We have a mutual understanding," he said. He gently deposited Anubis off his lap on the side of the bed, only gaining one scratch.

"Dang, he only scratched you once," Jordan whistled appreciatively. "He must really like you."

The Doctor chuckled, "I think it's because we have an agreement about someone that he barely tolerates me."

"Well, whatever it is, it's making my cat like you."

The Doctor looked up, seeing the topless Jordan, "Where's your shirt?"

Jordan raised an eyebrow, "I literally just took a shower, you're lucky I remembered my pants."

He shrugged, "Fair enough." He stood up, stretching. "How was your first adventure?"

Jordan shrugged, "Good."

The Doctor came toward them, wrapping his arms around them. "I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" they asked, soaking in the warmth before abruptly pushing him away. The Doctor sighed, raking a hand through his hair.

"I've been pushing you against your limits. You were practically mute today," he growled at himself, ashamed and shaking his head at his mistake. "I kept forgetting that this was your first adventure with me. Damn, I should've paid attention to you more."

"Dude, it's okay," Jordan reassured uncomfortably, hesitant in the correct way to reassuring him. "I'm alright, it was your fault just as it was mine."

"No, no," he shook his head. "If I had just-!"

"Doctor!" Jordan shouted, putting their hands on his shoulders, staring him in the eyes. "It is fine."

"I chose this, and by God am I letting you choose for me." They shook him minutely, trying to get him to understand. "Stop wallowing in self-pity, idiot. I chose this. I wanted to do this. Don't take people's choices from them, and you'll be fine."

"But-!"

"Listen to me," they started seriously. "You saved the Ood, making up for the past. You helped Donna see that the world isn't all black and white, something many people need to learn. You are a good man."

"Don't say that, Elliott," the Doctor shook his head, pulling away from their grasp. "I've done so much worse, things you wouldn't believe, things you would hate me for. One good deed doesn't cancel out the rest."

The familiar words brought a frown to their lips. "It doesn't. It never does, but the thing is, would you keep doing terrible things?"

"Of course not," the Doctor vehemently protested. "I would never."

"There you go," Jordan declared. "If you continue to not doing terrible things, then you're fine!"

An unbidden smile came forward on the Doctor's lips, "That's not how it works."

"Maybe not," Jordan shrugged. "But it's the thought that counts, isn't it?"

"I'm not sure that's what that phrase means," the Doctor pointed out.

"Eh, that's why my major wasn't English."

The Doctor laughed, shaking his head in amusement. "You're my moral compass, aren't you, Jordan?"

Jordan frowned, saying evenly, "Don't put me on a pedestal, Doctor."

"You're right, you're right," the Doctor sighed. "You're always telling me this. You're not someone I put all my problems on, you're your own person."

"Great, glad that that's in order," Jordan patted his cheek.

He huffed out a laugh, "Thanks though, Elliott. Though, that doesn't mean I didn't notice how you pushed away at me."

Jordan turned away, and he sighed, wrapping his arms around their waist and resting his chin on their head. "Someday, I'll get through those walls."

They scoffed, "I'd like to see you try."

"That's what I'm doing."

There was a bright flash and Jordan looked down to see their necklace blinking colourful lights.

"What the hell?"

"Guess time's up," the Doctor said, reluctantly letting go.

"That's how I know when I go?"

"Yep," he agreed wearily.

"I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" he asked, a shadow of a smile on his face.

"For not always being here," they answered honestly.

"It's okay," he shrugged. "You'll be back."

"What's our relationship?" Jordan asked abruptly.

"What?"

"Is it romantic? Is it platonic? What are we?"

The Doctor ruffled their hair, "We are what we are, and we're happy, don't you worry."

The lights got brighter, and Jordan got out quickly, "I hope you know I'm ace."

He laughed, "Obviously." The Doctor kissed their cheek, and they disappeared in a flash of light.

* * *

" _Party's over, Doctor Song."_

 _A feminine voice, "It's not supposed to make that noise. You leave the brakes on."_

 _A Scottish voice, "Aren't you going to introduce us?"_

" _Amy Pond," said an impatient man, "Professor River Song."_

" _Each time it moves, it'll move faster," the same man's voice warned. "Don't even blink."_

" _maybe we're thick."_

" _They're coming. And they're draining the power for themselves."_

" _You're counting down. From ten. You have been for a couple of minutes."_

" _You have to leave me."_

" _You'll die."_

" _I will die in the knowledge that my courage did not desert me at the end. For that, I thank God and bless the path that takes you to safety."_

" _It's a long story, Doctor, can't be told. It has to be lived. No sneak previews."_

Jordan woke up.

* * *

 **Hello, hello, hello!**

 **Okay, I know I was almost late, but I hope this chapter made up for it! If you didn't get the memo, or don't read my other story, you should know that I am uploading once every Sunday following up to the 13th Doctor's debut, until the end of the season! It will alternate between this story and my other story, Queen of Creation. Thank you everyone for reviewing, especially reviewer Ingenious221B, your review was one of the things that kept me motivated to continue as well as NinjaOfSilence. Please leave a review if you want me to continue this story, and thank you to all the people who reviewed! I love reading them! This was barely edited, so leave a review on what you liked or disliked, and I will see _you_ next time.**

 **Goodbye, bye, bye!**


	3. The Angel's Time of Flesh and Blood

Jordan stumbled out of their bright haze, nearly tripping on something.

They steadied themself, arms stretched out in front of them for balance.

Feeling the cold of the floor, they groaned, "I forgot my shoes!"

They cursed but looked around the room for any answers to their location. There wasn't much in the room, only a door and a black box standing on a pedestal.

They went forward to investigate the cube. There wasn't much to the box, just a black coating on it.

The door behind them slid open, and a woman in a sleek black dress sauntered in.

" _Hello_ , you sweet, young thing," she greeted with a leer, eyes roaming up and down Jordan's body.

They flushed, only then realizing that they had forgotten their shirt as well, the chill finally setting in for them. They rubbed their bare arms from embarrassment or the chill, they couldn't tell.

"Er, hi," they wave awkwardly at her, tucking a lock of brown hair behind their ear. To her credit, she didn't seem to notice or mind their half-nakedness.

She frowned instead, noticing the action. She strode toward them, brushing a lock of hair out of their eyes, "You _are_ young. Where'd you come from"

"Er…" they didn't know how to respond. Her face was vaguely familiar, they remembered that her arc was important to the…. They wanted to say the eleventh Doctor, but they couldn't be too sure.

"Never mind," she said quickly, eyes catching something on their face. Probably their confused reaction to her. Her eyes held a hint of pain that they frowned at.

"I can tell that you're _very_ early."

"So what're you doing here?" they asked, hoping to divert her attention.

Her eyes lit up in mischief, and she smirked at them. "Watch and learn, sweetie."

Her hand held a device which she twisted a switch on it, morphing it into a blowtorch. She had a predatory stance as she stood in front of the box in the centre of the room.

"What're you going to do?"

"Make my mark."

She tilted the box up a bit so the top was facing her. Jordan frowned, wandering over to her. "Why would you-?"

Sparks flew as the device bit into the box, and they jumped back in fright. They hid behind the woman, wary of the flying sparks.

They frowned when the writing became distinct circular symbols that slowly morphed into English, "'Hello, sweetie'? Really?"

She smirked up at Jordan, sharp and dangerous, flicking the device off. The writing was neat and pristine.

"An artist needs to have a signature style, don't they?"

Jordan shook their head, an unwilling smile surfacing. "Oh, why do I even bother?"

"C'mon, sweetie," She smiled at them, linking arms and guiding them out into the corridor.

"You don't happen to have a shirt, do you?" they asked.

She laughed, taking the time to eye them up and down, "Don't worry, sweetie, where we're going will have all the shirts that you need."

They walked down the corridor in comfortable silence. The woman held her earlier device up at a door, sliding it open.

She looked up at something, and Jordan followed her gaze. A camera was watching their every move, but the woman only smirked and winked at the camera before easily sauntering away.

Two guards turned the corner just as the two reached a door, rifles raised offensively at them. Jordan stiffened, not liking the weapons aimed at them.

Another man walked forward more sedately between the guards, a hard expression on his face, "Party's over, Dr Song, yet you and your accomplice are still on board."

Jordan filed that name away for later. Dr Song didn't even react, she only smiled at the trio, and Jordan could see the tension in the other three's bodies at her sharp grin.

"Sorry, Alistar," she said unapologetically. "I needed to see what was in your vault. Do you all know what's down there? Any of you? Because I'll tell you something. This ship won't reach its destination."

"Wait 'til they run," Alistar advised the guards. "Don't make it look like an execution."

Jordan stiffened at those words, not liking the tone he was taking toward them nor the glare he shot at them.

Neither did Dr Song it seemed, as she unlinked arms and moved to stand protectively in front of Jordan. She looked at her watch, "Triple-seven, five/three, four, nine by ten. Zero, twelve/acorn."

She looked up at the three in front of them, still smiling, "Oh, and I could do with an air corridor."

Alistar stared at her, unimpressed.

Dr Song only shrugged graciously, a malicious smile on her face, "Like I said on the dance floor, you might want to find something to hang on to!"

A timer started beeping furiously, and Jordan startled, concerned. Their hand shot out to grip her shoulder in fear, and she, not looking backwards, gave them a gentle hand to hold.

Alistar's face contorted with realization, and his arms desperately grappled with a pipe on the wall. The guards do the same.

Dr Song blew the three a kiss as the door behind the two of them flew open. Jordan's arm instinctively wrapped around her waist carefully, and they were carried out into space. Jordan closed their eyes.

Something pulled them in, gripping Jordan's shoulder, and the two tumbled backwards onto a hard surface.

Jordan winced, arm not around River's waist digging into something and they cautiously opened their eyes.

They were chest to chest to chest with a man with with bright green eyes and a surprised yet gleeful expression on his face, "Jordan? River?"

"Doctor?" Another female voice asked in surprise.

Jordan scrambled up, untangling their arms from the mess of limbs on the ground. They could feel the flush forming on their face and chest.

To, who they supposed was River, River's credit, she still didn't seem surprised by anything that had occurred. She only stood up, smoothed out her dress and pointed, "Follow that ship!"

* * *

Jordan watched as the Doctor and River worked the controls of the TARDIS, still standing awkwardly to the side.

Their arms were crossed, and they rubbed their left arm up and down uncomfortably, unsure if they could go and get a shirt from anywhere.

"Hey," Jordan looked up to see a red-haired woman smile at them. They attempted a smile back, hesitant and wary. She immediately reminded them of Donna, though a little rougher around the edges.

She frowned, her Scottish accent thickening, "You know you can go and get a shirt, right?"

"Yeah, but uh-" they scrambled for an excuse. "I still don't really know where my room is, so…."

"Aw, you must be really early then," she said in understanding.

Jordan was starting to get really tired of that word. They nodded awkwardly, shuffling back toward what appeared to be a hallway.

"Hey, wait! Maybe I can show you…?"

"No, it's fine, I've got it." They denied her help and quickly fled the scene. Stumbling through the hallways, they turned left and reached a slightly familiar door.

Opening it, they were met with the same green room from before this jump. They sighed in relief, rummaging through the drawers.

They pulled on a random blue shirt and a green button up shirt, not bothering to button it up. They decided to opt out of changing their joggers, liking the comfortable ease it gave them.

Feeling substantially covered, Jordan made their way back to the console room. The Doctor and River were working the controls frantically, bickering like cats and dogs.

River had taken off her heels, hanging them on a part of the TARDIS. "They've gone into warp drive, we're losing them! Stay close!"

"I'm trying!" the Doctor snapped back.

"Use the stabilisers," she suggested quickly.

"There aren't any stabilisers!"

"The blue switches!" River pointed at a position, close to Jordan.

"The blue switches don't do anything!" he protested. "They're just… blue."

"Exactly they're blue stabilisers," she insisted.

"No, they're just blue!"

"Jordan!" River suddenly yelled at them, startling them. "Tell this man that those blue switches are stabilisers!"

"And tell that woman that they're just blue, Jordan!" the Doctor retorted, returning the glare that River gave him.

"Er…" they didn't know what to do, standing awkwardly behind. The Scottish woman from before nudged them, and they glanced over at her.

"If you don't do something now," she whispered slightly annoyed at talking to them, looking over at the bickering pair, "they'll be going at it all day."

"Right," they bobbed their head nervously at her. Hands hovered over the controls, unsure with what to do.

' _Relax. I'll help,'_ said a familiar voice. Idris's voice guided them through the controls, gently coaching which buttons to push and levers to pull. Jordan slowly followed her instructions, finding the steering to be fun.

The TARDIS settled with a gentle thud, and the Doctor and River looked up in surprise, "Uh- we're here."

The Doctor beamed at them, bounding over to kiss their cheek, "My Elliott, always so smart." He whispered with a kind smile, bringing them in with one arm into a hug. They could feel the eyes on their back, and they shivered at the feeling.

River smiled as well, leaning over to kiss Jordan's other cheek, "Thank you. He can be so stubborn sometimes."

"Doctor?" the redhead asked, "how come she can fly the TARDIS? I get how Jordan can, but why her?"

"Ha!" he fell against the jumpseat, bringing Jordan down with him. "You call that flying the TARDIS?"

"I mean, she kinda knew what controls did what, and it seemed like she knew what to do," Jordan pointed out hesitantly.

He pouted, "You're supposed to take my side."

"Doctor, you should know by now that with the matters of the TARDIS, Jordan'll always take my side. I _told_ you that the blue switches were stabilisers."

"Yeah, well it's just boring now, isn't it? They're boring-ers. They're blue boringers."

"Yes, well takes one to know one is how that old saying goes, isn't it?" River said, humour in her eyes.

The Doctor rolled his eyes at that remark, resigned against River's teasing, Then his eyebrows furrowed, gesturing vaguely, "Wait, where was the-?"

"What? The what?" River asked. She made her way round the controls, checking various screens and buttons. "I've checked the mapping of the probability vectors, the fold-back on the temporal isometry, and Jordan charted the ship to its destination, parked us right along side. Not that I didn't have faith in you, dear."

Jordan gave her an awkward thumbs-up, keeping quiet, but the Doctor did not, "We haven't landed."

"Of course we have," River rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. "Tell him, sweetie."

"I did it so that we would land where River wanted us to go," Jordan admitted quietly when all eyes were on them, eyes downcast and feeling like they did something wrong. "I did what I was supposed to do."

The Doctor shook his head, rubbing their hip absentmindedly, soothingly, "But it didn't make the noise."

"What noise?"

"You know…" he made a face as if that explained everything, gesturing vaguely again. "That-" he made a familiar wheezing sound.

"It's not supposed to make that noise," River rolled her eyes, helping Jordan up and out of his grip. She settled them leaning against her hip, arm around their waist, "You just leave the brakes on."

He shook his head, standing up, "Yeah, well, it's a brilliant noise. I love that noise. Right Jordan?"

"It is a brilliant noise," Jordan agreed placatingly, wondering if the Doctor was at all sane.

"See?" he lifted his hand toward them with a big smile. His eyes flickered distrustfully at River's hand placement on Jordan. "Come along, Pond, Jordan. Let's have a look."

The Doctor pulled Jordan out of River's grip, running for the door, one hand on the handles the other on Jordan's.

"Wait, no!" River stopped them, pulling Jordan back and stopping them right next to her, "Environment checks." She typed some things on the screen, reading the words scrolling down.

"Oh, yes, sorry!" he exclaimed, slightly mocking. "Environment checks." The Doctor stuck his head right out the door.

"Nice out," he said, looking back toward the TARDIS occupants.

"We're somewhere in the Garn Belt. There's an atmosphere. Early indications suggest…" River was cut off by the Doctor.

"We're on Alfava Metraxis, the seventh planet of the Dundra System. Oxygen-rich atmosphere, toxins in the soft band, 11-hour day, and…" he stuck his head out again. "Chance of rain later."

Jordan stifled a giggle at the Doctor's smug face and River's exasperated sigh. She whispered over to them, "He thinks he's so hot when he does that."

"I guess?" they answered unsurely, with a helpless shrug. They could admit that he was aesthetically pleasing, but so was a field of freshly bloomed flowers.

"Mmm, but you're one better," River eyes them up and down, and they flushed a hot red.

The Doctor bounded up to the three of them, and he frowned at Jordan's embarrassed flush. He snaked an arm around their waist, pulling them in close.

"How come you can fly the TARDIS?" the redhead asked River.

"Oh, I had lessons from the very best," River assured her.

"Well, yeah," the Doctor sounded smug, nonchalantly shrugging his shoulders.

"Shame you were busy that day, Jordan was _gorgeous,_ " River looked them up and down, and Jordan shivered at the heated gaze, slightly uncomfortably. "Right then, why did they land here?"

She headed for the door, but the Doctor made her pause, "They didn't land here."

River was unnaturally still, and she turned to face him, "Sorry?"

"You should've checked the Home Box," the Doctor said, nodding toward the doors, "it crashed." River stepped outside, and the Doctor closed the door behind her before heading back to the console.

"Explain!" the redhead demanded, and Jordan was really starting to regret not watching the show. At least then, they would've known who was who. They were sure that she had some really important arc though.

"Who is that, and how did she do that museum thing?"

The Doctor unwrapped himself from Jordan and worked the controls, "It's a long story, and I don't know most of it. Off we go!"

"What are you doing?"

"Leaving. She's got where she wants to go, let's go where we want to go," Jordan frowned at those words, his tone sounding rather… pained. They went to his side, holding his hand securely. He squeezed their hand in thanks, keeping it in a loose hold.

"Aren't you basically running away?"

"I think all he knows how to do is to run," Jordan muttered.

"Straight to you," the Doctor batted his eyelashes at them, and they flushed slightly but returned a smile.

"Why?"

"'Cuz she's the future," he answered cryptically, eyes flickering to Jordan, "our future."

"Can you run away from that?"

"I can run away from anything I like. Time is not the boss of me," there was an odd tint of regret in his voice, but it didn't seem like she noticed. Though Jordan did, squeezing his hand tighter.

"Hang on," her eyes flickered to the doors, "is that a planet out there?"

"Yes," the Doctor nodded, and Jordan did too slowly as if it was obvious, "of course it's a planet."

"You promised me a planet," she said imperiously. "Five minutes?"

The Doctor pretended to think about it before giving in with a small smile, "Okay, five minutes!"

"Yes!" she cheered, fists raised in happiness and heading for the door.

"But that's all," he warned as she went out the doors, "'cuz I'm telling you now, that woman is not dragging me into anything!"

Jordan sighed at that remark, turning to him and asking softly, "Who is River to us?"

The Doctor looked at them in surprise, but he shook his head, "No one you need to worry about."

"Doctor," they gave him a look, and he sighed.

"I can never say no to that face," he quirked up a sad smile, and Jordan inhaled sharply, the dots connecting in their mind.

"She dies for us, doesn't she?"

He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. He ruffled their curly hair, bringing them in for a tight hug and a kiss on their head, "My Elliott, always too smart."

"Sometimes I wish I wasn't," they muttered into his jacket, enjoying the hug.

"Intelligence is a curse and a blessing," he agreed. He breathed in deep, "Right then! Sooner we get out, sooner we can leave."

Jordan nodded, letting go but paused, "Er…?"

"Yes, Jordan?"

"What're we? Our relationship between us, that is."

"Oh you must be young." Jordan was starting to hate that word too. "Don't worry, we're happy. That's all that matters."

They huffed, not the answer they were looking for, crossing their arms, "Whatever. Let's go."

"Aw, no need to be so stubborn, Elliott," he teased with a gentle smile.

They sighed in annoyance, "Why do you call me Elliott? _I_ haven't told you it yet."

He looked surprised at that outburst, "Do you want me to stop?"

Truthfully they didn't, and he seemed to know it, given that knowing look he gave them.

Elliott was the name they chose, two year or so after they had found out the term nonbinary. They always hated the name Olivia. It was too feminine for their taste, and ever since that day fucking Branden called them Ugly Ollie, they hadn't liked it ever again.

Luckily their last name, Jordan, was gender neutral enough for them at first, and it wasn't that hard for their peers to switch to using that name. Though there were the odd ones that didn't care, still stubbornly calling them by Olivia. And by the time that they had found Elliott, it was too late to change to it. They hadn't minded though, preferring to keep Elliott as special.

Being malicious for the sake of being malicious didn't seem to be the Doctor. He had only ever used Elliott when the two of them were alone, something that was special to them seemed to be special to him as well.

If there was a warm feeling at that thought, Jordan resolutely ignored it. "No," they shook their head, "it's fine."

He smiled widely, tipping an invisible hat and bowing, "Much obliged, kind one."

They giggled at the strange gesture, and the Doctor returned the grin. He straightened and offered an arm to them.

Jordan hesitated before quickly kissing his cheek in thanks. He froze, surprise and joy radiating from that brilliant grin on his face.

"Let's go, Doctor," they said, tugging him out the doors eagerly.

* * *

The ship had crashed on top of an ancient and large stone structure, burning in areas and bits of debris fallen to the ground around the TARDIS.

"What caused it to crash? Not me," River said quickly.

"Nah," the Doctor shook his head, "the airlock would've sealed seconds after you blew it. According to the Home Box, the warp engines had a phase-shift. No survivors."

"A phase-shift would have to be sabotage. I did warn them," River said.

"About what?" the Doctor and Jordan asked at the same time.

"Well, at least the building was empty," River ignored them. "Aplan temple. Unoccupied for centuries." She started to key something into a handheld device.

The Doctor walked back to the redhead, and she pushed, "Aren't you going to introduce us?"

Jordan perked up eagerly as the Doctor said tersely, an arm around their shoulders, "Amy Pond, Professor River Song."

River faced them, "Ahhh, I'm going to be a Professor some day, am I?"

The Doctor winced at the slip, and Jordan squeezed his hand as River chuckled with a smile, "How exciting! Spoilers!" before turning her attention back to what she was doing.

"Yeah, but who is she and how did she do that? She just left you a note in a museum!" Amy whispered.

The Doctor unraveled himself from Jordan and walked off.

"Two things always guaranteed to show up in a museum," River said, coming up behind Amy and Jordan. "The Home Box of category four starliner and, sooner or later, him. It's how he keeps score."

"I know," Amy laughed.

"It's hilarious, isn't it?"

The Doctor came up behind them with a sarcastic laugh, saying to River, "I'm nobody's taxi service! I'm not gonna be there to catch you every time you feel like jumping out of a spaceship."

"That sort of implies that we do that willingly," Jordan muttered. The Doctor rolled his eyes, snagging their hand.

"I know that you don't. It's her that I'm talking about."

"And you are so wrong," River said, but Jordan felt as if there was more to that statement than River meant. "There's one survivor. There's a thing in the belly of that ship that can't ever die. Oh, now he's listening!"

She smiled mischievously at him then spoke into the device, "You lot in orbit yet? Yeah, I saw it land. I'm at the crash site. Try and home in on my signal."

Holding up her device, she asked, "Doctor, can you sonic me? I need to boost the signal so we can use it as a beacon."

The Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver obligingly, helping River's communication device. She dropped a small curtsy in thanks, and Jordan giggled. River winked toward Jordan, taking their free hand and kissing the back of it; Jordan flushed a deep red.

"Ooh, Doctor!" Amy giggled teasingly. "You soniced her!"

River put away her device, opening her diary, "We have a minute. Shall we? Where were we up to? I know that this is Jordan's first time. Not that it's your fault, sweetie. Have we done the Bone Meadows?"

"What's the book?"

"Stay away from it," the Doctor warned, addressing Jordan more than Amy and looking into their eyes.

"What is it though?"

"Her diary."

" _Our_ diary," River corrected. "The three of ours."

"Her past, our… future. Time travel. We keep meeting in the wrong order."

"Like you and Jordan?"

"No."

Dust stared to swirl around them, forming four columns and turning into four soldiers in desert camouflage uniforms. One of the soldiers approached River, "You promised me an army, Doctor Song."

"No," she denied easily. "I promised you the equivalent of an army. This is the Doctor."

The Doctor gave him a lighthearted salute with two fingers. "And this is Jordan, they/them pronouns." Jordan gave the group a small smile and wave.

He shook the Doctor's then Jordan's hand, "Father Octavian, Sir, Mx. Bishop, second class. 20 clerics at my command. The troops are already in the drop ship and landing shortly. Doctor Song was helping us with a covert investigation. Has Doctor Song explained what we're dealing with?"

River winced slightly at the reminder, trying to hide it, "Right, Doctor, what do you know of the Weeping Angels?"

The Doctor faced her, letting go of Jordan and immediately tense.

* * *

The soldiers started setting up camp when their transport arrived, hitching up tents and setting up boundaries.

Father Octavian strode toward the Doctor, Jordan and Amy. "The Angel, as far as we know, is still trapped in the ship. Our mission is to get inside and neutralise it. We can't get through up top, we'd be too close to the drives. According to this," he held up a handheld device, "behind the cliff face, there's a network of catacombs leading right up to the temple. We can blow through the base of the cliffs, get into the entrance chamber, then make our way up."

"Oh, good," the Doctor said lightly.

"Good, sir?" Father Octavian asked.

"Catacombs, probably dark ones. Dark catacombs, great!" the Doctor's voice was high pitched, though no excitement seemed to portray through that exclamation.

"Technically, I think it's called a maze of the dead," Father Octavian said.

"Oh, cheery thought, like that's any better," Jordan snorted.

"You can stop any time you like," the Doctor said.

"Father Octavian?" a soldier came up to the group.

"Excuse me, Sir, Mx," the Doctor waved him off as he left. He then uses the screwdriver on some of the equipment set up on the table.

"You're letting people call you 'Sir'. You never do that," Amy said suspiciously, setting herself on a table. "So, whatever a Weeping Angel is, it's really bad, yeah?"

"Now that's interesting. You're still here. Which part of 'Wait in the TARDIS till I tell you it's safe' was so confusing?" the Doctor said pointedly to Amy.

"Ooh, are you all Mr Grumpy Face today?" Amy mocked, tilting her head.

"A Weeping Angel, Amy," though he addressed the Scotswoman, Jordan could tell he meant them as well, "is the deadliest, most powerful, most malevolent life form evolution has ever produced, and one is trapped inside that wreckage and I'm supposed to climb in with a screwdriver and a torch- and assuming I survive the radiation, and the whole ship doesn't blow up in my face- do something clever which I haven't actually thought of yet. That's my day, that's what I'm up to. Any questions?"

"Is River Song your wife?" Amy asked, ignoring his warning tone and glare. "'Cuz she's someone from your future, and the way she talks to you, I've never seen anyone do that. She's kinda like, you know, 'Heel, boy!' She's Mrs Doctor from the future, isn't she? Is she gonna be your wife one day?"

"Yes," the Doctor said to Amy's surprise. "You're right. I am definitely Mr Grumpy Face today."

"Jordan?" River's voice called from inside the transport, "Doctor? Doctor! Father Octavian!"

The Doctor followed her call, leaving Amy and Jordan standing together.

"Is that really what you're worried about?" Jordan asked her, and Amy seemed surprised that she was being addressed.

"The Doctor has it handled," she dismissed, unworried.

Jordan shook their head, biting their tongue at that naive remark. No need to worry or scare her, "Let's just- let's just go over to them."

"Why do they call him Father?" Amy asked.

"He said he was their bishop, and they were his clerics" Jordan shrugged, "seems that the Church has moved on in the 51st century."

"What do you think?" River asked, controlling a monitor with a remote. The black and white screen played a video of a familiar statue that Jordan saw in graveyards. "It's from the security cameras in the Byzantium vault. I ripped it when I was on board. Sorry about the quality. It's four seconds. I've put it on loop."

"Oof, that's creepy," Jordan commented, their interest piquing. They crept closer to the screen, the loop of the Angel entrancing them, noticing how there was a blip of footage without the Angel. "Interesting, there's a small pause before it loops back."

"It's definitely an Angel," the Doctor muttered following Jordan's example. "Hands covering its face."

"You've encountered an Angel before?" Father Octavian asked, half-surprised by his knowledge.

The Doctor gave him a hollow smile, as if sensing his doubt and remembering the experience, "Once, on Earth, a long time ago. But those were scavengers, barely surviving."

He gave Jordan a sideways look, but they didn't notice, eyes intently looking at the video. Sighing, he wrapped an arm around them, for their protection or his, he didn't know.

"It's just a statue," Amy said, not knowing what the danger was.

"It's just a statue when you see it," River corrected her.

Jordan whistled, impressed, and looked toward the Doctor, "That's a rather ingenious way to live. How do they survive? What do they eat? Why are they time-locked in place when people see it?"

"What's that mean? It's a statue when you see it?" Amy asked.

The Doctor smiled at their curiosity, "They move their victims back through time with a touch, and then consume the potential energy from the lives the victims would otherwise have led, moving them through both space and time. Before they hunt, it's a quantum lock. In the sight of any living creature, the Angels literally cease to exist. They're just stone. The ultimate defence mechanism. Where did you find it?"

"Oh, pulled from the ruins of Razbahan," River said, "end of last century. It's been in private hands ever since, dormant all that time."

"There's a difference between dormant and patient," he said, a hint of warning in his voice.

"Reminds me of that one horror movie," Jordan said, straightening away from the screen. The Doctor made an intrigued hum, and they elaborated. " _The Conjuring_ or _The Ring_ or something like that. There's some sort of recording, and then the recording of that thing comes out of the screen and kills you. You don't think that'd happen, would you?"

The Doctor smiled amusedly, "I doubt it. Our lives aren't like a horror film."

"Mmm, I'd say more adventure," Jordan agreed.

He hugged them tighter, "I'd say so. Let's see what adventure this is. Coming?"

They shook their head, "Nah, I wanna examine the tape a bit more."

"Alright," he squeezed their right shoulder before leading the others out.

Amy stood in the entryway of the transport, "Anyone need me? Nobody?"

"Nobody never existed, he was a fictional character, at least according to my knowledge," Jordan quipped at her, only receiving a confused silence.

"What do you-? Oh, never mind, I got it. Funny." She snorted slightly and tilted her head at them. "Where were you last?"

"Previous Doctor," Jordan shrugged, looking away from the screen and back at Amy. "Saved some aliens from slavery, you know the usual."

"Right, the usual," Amy said before her attention caught the screen. "Did you see that?"

"What?" they turned around to see looping image. The Angel's hands had moved away from their face.

"Amy, go ask River if there was anymore footage," Jordan said, there was a creeping feeling of fear crawling up the back of their spine.

Amy stuck her head out, asking before turning back to Jordan, "Dr Song said that that was all there is."

"That doesn't make sense," Jordan muttered, staring intently at the timestamp which was still moving between the same four seconds. "It moved. You saw it right, Amy?"

She nodded, peering closer to the timer, "The time hasn't changed, has it?"

Jordan shook their head, looking back up at the Angel, "No, but- Oh my god!"

The Angel had moved again, closer to the screen, Jordan's shriek of terror covered the sound of the lock of the door, clicking closed and securely locked.

They pointed at the screen where the Angel had gotten closer to the screen, "Amy, you saw that, right? Tell me you saw that!"

"I did," Amy said, voice trembling and scared. She picked up a remote, pressing the one button. The screen flickered off before flickering back on again every time she tried to turn it off.

"Try the plug," Jordan suggested, eyes flickering down under the television. Amy ducked under the table and tried to tug the plug out of its power source.

"It won't budge," she cried, tugging on the cord fruitlessly.

Jordan's blood ran cold and slowly looked up at the screen. They sucked in a breath at the close proximity of the Angel's face, mouth open and fangs extended.

"Fuck, Doctor! River!"

Amy jumped up, crossing toward the door and started to bang on the door, "Doctor!"

Jordan blinked, and the Angel moved closer. "Doctor, it's in the room!"

Amy tried to punch the keypad open. "Doctor, it's here!"

Jordan was terrified, remembering what the Doctor said. "How the fuck is that thing alive? Did it just magic itself into existence?"

"I'm not really concerned about that now," Amy snapped. "Doctor!"

"Are you alright?" the Doctor's voice was muffled against the locked door. "What's happening?"

"It's coming out of the television," Amy said.

"You know," Jordan said lightly, heart pounding heavily as their eyes started to water. "I never really thought that my movie reference would be correct."

"Not the time, Jordan," Amy said sharply, still by the door. "The Angel's here, Doctor."

"Don't take your eyes off it!" he ordered. There was a whirring sound, "It can't move if you're looking."

He banged the side of the door, "What's wrong? It's deadlocked."

"There is no deadlock," River's voice filtered through, voice tight.

"Don't blink, Amy, Jordan! Don't even blink!"

"Amy, how's about we switch?" Jordan suggested lightly. "I think my eyes are watering." They blinked, falling down to their knees at the strain.

Amy rushed to stare at the Angel, barely stopping it from becoming solid. Jordan rubbed their eyes harshly, scrubbing away the tears.

"There is no deadlock," they heard River say unconvincingly.

"There is now!" the Doctor's voice snapped at her.

"Shut up!" Jordan said. They stood up, wiping away the last vestiges of tears. "How are we gonna escape? We can't turn it off."

"Why can't you turn it off?" the Doctor asked.

"It just turns back on," Amy said, her own eyes watering. Jordan nudged her, taking her place at staring. The face terrified them, so they stared at the body of the Angel instead, distantly noticing the toga like clothes the Angel was wearing.

"Try again, and don't take your eyes off the Angel."

"We're not!" Amy shouted, trying to pull the plug again. "Jordan's not blinking! Have you ever tried not blinking?!"

"Wait!" Jordan remembered how there was a blank part of the footage. "Amy, get out from under there and switch!"

She scrambled up and took their spot. Jordan fumbled for the remote, turning it off before it switched itself back on, "Is it that whatever has a picture of the Angel becomes the Angel?"

"Yes, and normally I'd love to praise you for your deductions, but I don't think this is the time," River said.

"Anything that takes the image of an Angel is an Angel," the Doctor agreed.

"What does that-?" Amy started to ask before understanding bloomed. "Are you saying there's a spot blank?"

"I mean I said so earlier. So here's hoping," Jordan said, flicking it off again. "I've just got to time it right."

"Jordan, Jordan!" the Doctor's voice was scared. "Don't look at its eyes! The eyes!"

"Why?" Amy asked, staring intently at the Angel, who was still coming closer. "Jordan, I don't think I can keep staring."

"Here," Jordan shoved the remote into her hands, "switch."

"'The eyes are not the windows of the soul, they are the doors. Beware what may enter there.'" The Doctor read out loud.

"Yes, thank you, still trying to survive here, you can shut up now," Jordan said, Amy still trying flicking the screen off again. "One, two, three, four."

The image froze on static, and Amy breathed out a sigh of relief, closing her eyes. Jordan threw the remote away, doubling over in relief.

The door clicked open, and the Doctor and River barrelled in through the door. The Doctor went to unplug the T.V. while River hugged Jordan tight, burying her face in their hair.

"I froze it!" Amy beamed at the pair. "Jordan noticed that there was a sort of blip on the tape, and I froze it on the blip. It wasn't the image of an Angel any more. That was good, yeah? It was, wasn't it? That was pretty good."

"River, hug Amy," the Doctor ordered.

"Why?" she asked, face still buried in Jordan's curls, them patting her arm awkwardly.

"Because I want Jordan, and I'm busy."

Jordan could feel her annoyance from the little puff of air tickling their neck, but River reluctantly pulled away to go over to Amy.

The Doctor pulled Jordan to him as he started to sonic things, "That was a projection of the Angel. It's reaching out, getting a good look at us. It's no longer dormant."

 _BANG!_

The four of them exchanged looks before racing out of the room.

"Doctor! We're through!" Father Octavian's called over to them.

"Okay, now we're through," he said to the others with a smile, racing off toward the clerics and tugging Jordan along.

"Coming?" River asked Amy, pausing at the door.

"Yeah, yeah," she said, rubbing her eye. "There's just something in my eye."

* * *

The Doctor jumped down from the ladder, standing next to Father Octavian. He helped Jordan down the ladder, immediately drawing them close.

"You didn't look into the Angel's eyes, did you?" he asked, concerned.

"No," they repeated for the tenth time. "I looked at the body instead."

"Sorry, sorry," he sighed, nuzzling his nose into their hair, "I just worry."

"It's fine. You got a flashlight?" They looked around the dark corridor, "I can't see shit."

The Doctor tsked at their language but obligingly pulled out a torch and turned it on. He looked around, "Do we have a gravity globe?"

"Grav globe," Father Octavian nodded to his soldiers, and one of them took the device out, handing it to him.

"Where are we? What is this?" Amy asked.

"It's an Aplan mortarium," River explained. "Sometimes called a maze of the dead."

"I said it once, I'll say it again: like that's any better," Jordan said.

"And what's that?"

"Well, if you happen to be a creature of living stone…" the Doctor started, kicking the gravity sphere like a football, and it rose into the air, stopped, then lit up the cave showing a large number of stone statues, "the perfect hiding place."

"I guess this makes it a bit trickier," Father Octavian said.

"A bit, yeah," the Doctor shrugged, gravitating back to Jordan.

"A stone angel on the loose amongst stone statues. A lot harder than I'd prayed for."

"A needle in a haystack," River commented.

"A needle that looks like hay. A hay-like needle. Of death. A hay-like needle of death in a haystack of, er- statues. No, yours was fine," the Doctor said.

Jordan snickered as Octavian eyed him oddly, "Right. Check every single statue in this chamber. You know what you're looking for. Complete visual inspection. One question - how do we fight it?"

"We find it and hope," he said, going off with Amy following.

Jordan straggled behind, seeing Father Octavian hush something to River with a hiss, grip on her arm near bruising.

He let her go, turning away and River rubbed her arm with a wince. Jordan came up to her, "Are you alright?"

River startled as if surprised at their concern, "Of course. I'm alright."

They hummed, "Alright, I won't call you on that bullshit. Seems that whatever you and him were talking about was serious."

"It was," she said.

"You're not going to elaborate on that, are you?" they asked knowingly.

"Mmm," River hummed with a teasing grin that didn't quite reach her eyes. "My Elliott, always so smart."

They flushed but didn't comment on the use of their first name, only slightly suspicious. They hit her arm, muttering, "Let's go."

Her laugh followed them all the way forward.

* * *

The Doctor shone his torch in every direction, Amy following. She stopped and looked above them at all the statues lining the way.

She rubbed the corner of her eye with one finger, finding a little grit. She then used her full hand before abruptly stopping and staring at her hand.

River and Jordan came up beside her, "You alright?" River asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Amy tried to dismiss, but Jordan could hear the slight fear in her voice. "So, what's a maze of the dead?"

"Oh, it's not as bad as it sounds," River said nonchalantly. "It's just a labyrinth with dead people buried in the walls."

She paused, "Okay, that was fairly bad. Right, give me your arm." She brandished a syringe, "This won't hurt a bit."

River gave Amy a shot, "Ow!"

"There, you see," River said lightly. "I lied. It's a viro-stabiliser. Stabilises your metabolism against radiation, drive burn, anything. You're going to need it when we get up to that ship. Jordan?"

They held out their arm reluctantly and winced at the sting. River smiled reassuringly at them, holding their hand and rubbing it soothingly.

"So what's he like?" Amy asked. "In the future, I mean. 'Cuz you know him in the future, don't you?"

"The Doctor? Well, the Doctor's the Doctor," River said cryptically, still rubbing the back of Jordan's hand. She didn't even look at her, eyes staring intently at their hand. Jordan relaxed at the grounding feeling, worries starting to fade away.

"Oh, well that's very helpful," Amy scoffed. "Mind if I write that down?"

"Yes, we are," she called, diverting the conversation away. Amy was confused, looking up at her.

"Sorry, what?" the Doctor called back, busy.

"Talking about you," she said obviously.

"I wasn't listening," he denied, staring intently at a device. "I'm busy."

"Ah, right, of course," she chuckled. "The other way up."

The Doctor froze before slowly turning the device the other way round and looked over at River who merely raised her eyebrows. Jordan hid their grin behind their free hand. River grinned at them, wrapping a hand around their shoulders.

"You're so his wife," Amy said.

"Oh, Amy, Amy, Amy!" River laughed, unwrapping herself from Jordan and clapping her hands together. "This is the Doctor we're talking about. Do you really think it could be anything that simple?"

"Yep," Amy said simply, popping the word.

"You're good," River complimented, wrapping her arm around Jordan again. "I'm not saying you're right... but you are very good."

"Right, can we get away from the Doctor's love life or lack thereof," Jordan interrupted, feeling more than uncomfortable.

"For you, sweetie? Anything," River promised.

The tip of Jordan's ears flushed a light pink, suppressing a smile, "Isn't it a bit weird?"

"What, sweetie?"

"How the Angel managed to bring themself to life by transporting itself through the television," Jordan said. "You said that whatever has the image of an Angel becomes an Angel, right?"

"Yes, well you said it, but where are you going with this, sweetie?"

"Well, I just-" there was gunfire, and they cut themself off, exchanging looks and running off.

A young cleric had fired his weapon at one of the statues, and the Doctor stopped to look at it. Jordan came up to him, silently asking. He held them back, answering.

"Sorry. Sorry, I thought... I thought it looked at me."

"We know what the Angel looks like," Father Octavian said. "Is that the Angel?"

"No, Sir," he muttered, shamefaced.

"No, Sir, it is not! According to the Doctor, we are facing an enemy of unknowable power and infinite evil. So it would be good, it would be very good, if we could all remain calm in the presence of decor."

"What's your name?" the Doctor asked.

"Bob, Sir," the cleric answered.

"Ah, that's a great name," he smiled genuinely. "I love Bob."

"It's a Sacred Name," Father Octavian said. "We all have Sacred Names, they're given to us in the service of the Church."

He crossed over to Bob and Father Octavian, "Sacred Bob. More like Scared Bob now, eh? Oof!" Jordan jabbed his side, hissing, "Offensive!"

"Yes, Sir, and thank you, Mx."

"Ah, good. Scared keeps you fast. Anyone in this room who isn't scared is a moron. Carry on." Jordan rolled their eyes at that remark.

"We'll be moving into the maze in two minutes," Father Octavian informed everyone before turning to Bob. "You stay with Christian and Angelo. Guard the approach."

Bob nodded miserably, and Jordan came beside him. "Hey, Bob, I'm Jordan."

"I know, Mx," he nodded.

"Right," they bobbed their head awkwardly. "Listen about the Doctor-"

"Oh, I know, Mx. He was just trying to console me."

"No- well, yes, but here's the thing troubling me about his statement."

Bob turned to them, interested, "How do you mean, Mx?"

"Here's the thing about fear, Bob. You heard of fight or flight?" They continued when he nodded. "How the adrenaline kicks in and either jumpstarts you away or causes you to pummel them down? Well, there's another one too: freeze."

Bob tilted his head at them in confusion, and they elaborated, "Sometimes the adrenaline gets to be too much, and the human body doesn't know how to respond, and it locks you in place. And that's okay, it happens. Luckily, it seems that you usually fight, given your spectacle earlier."

The cleric flushed with a small grin, and Jordan returned, "He was right about one thing though. Anyone who isn't scared is a moron. Now I won't keep you any longer. Go on, and keep fighting."

"Thank you, Mx," he smiled genuinely at them. "You've helped a lot."

Jordan flushed, ushering him away.

"Isn't there a chance this lot's just gonna collapse?" Amy asked, looking around the passage. "There's a whole ship up there."

"Incredible builders, the Aplans," River said.

"Had dinner with their chief architect once," the Doctor commented, swinging his and Jordan's hands between them. "Two heads are better than one.

"You mean you helped him?"

"No, I mean he had two heads," he said. Jordan hummed in appreciation, looking at the statues in slight confusion. "That book, the very end, what did it say?"

"Hang on," River grabbed the book out of her pack.

"Read it to me."

"'What if we had ideas that could think for themselves? What if one day our dreams no longer needed us? When these things occur and are held to be true, the time will be upon us. The time of Angels.'"

"Right," Jordan said, "not that that isn't creepy, but I wanted to point something out."

"What is it, sweetie?"

"You know how this is practically a graveyard, right? And that graveyards need markers?" they gestured vaguely up at the statues, a blur in their eyes but still only seeing one head. "Usually those grave markers have statues of a weeping angel, not the alien ones, but like, a regular one."

"Where are you going with this?" Father Octavian asked.

"Those Appalachian aliens, they had two heads, right?"

"Lovely species, the _Aplans_ ," the Doctor stressed the species name. "We should visit them some time."

"I thought they were all dead?" Amy pointed out.

"So's Virginia Woolf. I'm on her bowling team. Very relaxed, sort of cheerful. That's having two heads. You're never short of a snog with an extra head."

"Right, moving on from the fact that the Doctor has a time machine," Jordan said. "They had two heads, like the Doctor kindly pointed out multiple times. So why's the statues only have one?"

The Doctor skidded to a stop, causing Jordan to bump into him. He stared intently at a statue, "Oh."

"That's what was wrong," River said faintly.

"Exactly."

"How could we not notice that?" River asked herself.

"Low level perception filter," the Doctor said. "Or maybe we're just thick."

"Excuse me? Who was the one who pointed out?" Jordan asked.

"Right, not them. They are not thick," the Doctor corrected himself.

"What's wrong, Sir? I'm not understanding the situation," Father Octavian asked.

"Nobody move," the Doctor ordered. "Everyone stay exactly where they are. Bishop, I am truly sorry. I've made a mistake and we are all in danger."

"What danger?" the Bishop asked again.

"The Aplans," River whispered, eyes watching the statues warily.

"The Aplans?"

"They've got two heads," River repeated.

"Yes, I get that," Father Octavian said, annoyed. "So?"

"So why don't the statues? Honestly, Jordan practically spelt it out for you," the Doctor said. "Everyone, over there. Just move, don't ask questions, don't speak."

The group moved backwards until all eyes were on the statues, nothing behind them. The young clerics had their guns raised defensively.

River moved Jordan back behind her, and the Doctor took front centre, "Okay, I want everyone to switch off your torches."

"Sir?"

"Just do it," the Doctor barked at him. The others switched off their torches, leaving only the Doctor's on. Jordan jumped slightly at the sudden darkness and grabbed the closest hand: River's.

"Okay, I'm going to turn this one off too, just for a moment," the Doctor informed the group.

"Are you sure about this?" River hissed at him, gripping Jordan's hand tight.

"No, but I trust my Jordan." He flicked the torch off for a split second before flicking it on right away.

Jordan flinched, and the statues had moved toward them, a predatory glare on their faces. The Doctor ran ahead as Amy gasped, "Oh my god! They've moved."

Everyone rushed after the Doctor, River's hand holding Jordan's tightly. He said, "They're Angels! All of them!"

"But they can't be!" River protested, her knuckles white.

"Clerics, keep watching them," the Doctor instructed, backtracking and seeing the Angels had moved forward. "Every statue in this maze, every single one, is a Weeping Angel. They're coming after us."

"There was only one Angel on the ship. Just the one, I swear," River said seriously, her hand had loosened somewhat from her hold on Jordan's hand, but still strong enough to be bruising. They rubbed circles on the back of her hand soothingly.

"Could they have been here already?" Amy asked.

"The Aplans," the Doctor had a sick sense of understanding in his voice, "how did they die out?"

"Nobody knows."

"We know," he said, looking around. Jordan gasped, eyes flitting from each statue in understanding. River unconsciously started to soothe them with quiet shushing. They relaxed slightly, shuffling closer to her.

"They don't look like Angels," Father Octavian said.

"And they're not fast. You said they were fast. They should have had us by now," Amy pointed out.

"They're dying. Losing their form. They must have been down here for centuries, starving," the Doctor worked out.

"Losing their image," Jordan muttered.

"And their image is their power. Power. Power!"

"Doctor?" Amy asked warily.

"Don't you see?" he said excitedly. "All that radiation spilling out, the drive burn. The crash wasn't an accident - it was a rescue mission, for the Angels. We're in the middle of an army and it's waking up."

"We need to get out of here fast," River said, pulling Jordan along.

"Bob, Angelo," Father Octavian said into his radio, "Christian, come in, please. Any of you, come in!"

"It's Bob, Sir," his voice crackled over the radio feed. "Sorry, Sir."

"Bob, are Angelo and Christian with you? All the statues are active. I repeat, all the statues are active!" he warned.

"I know, Sir," he said, voice monotonous. "Angelo and Christian are dead, Sir. The statues killed them, Sir."

Jordan sucked in a breath, scared and confused. How was Bob talking to them then? If the others were dead, how did Bob get away? If they were truly that desperate to survive, why would they let Bob go?

"River?" they whispered to her. "Do the Angels ever directly kill their victims?"

"Not to my knowledge," she whispered back, eyes still looking around carefully.

The Doctor grappled the radio from Octavian, "Bob, Sacred Bob, it's me, the Doctor. Where are you now?"

"I'm talking to my…" Father Octavian objected too late.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, shut up!" he dismissed the Bishop.

"I'm on my way up to you, Sir," Bob said blandly, and Jordan could hear the uninterested tone in his voice, so unlike the shy, young man they had talked to earlier. "I'm homing on your signal."

"Well done, Bob," he said with a slightly nervous chuckle. "Scared keeps you fast, told you, didn't I? Your friends, Bob, what did the Angel do to them?"

"Snapped their necks, sir."

"Doctor? I don't think-" they cut themself off at the shake of his head. He mouthed, ' _I know'_ at them before speaking back into the radio.

"That's odd," he said lightly. "That's not how the Angels kill you, they displace you in time. Unless they needed the bodies for something."

"Bob," Father Octavian yanked the radio from the Doctor, "did you check their data packs for vital signs? We may be able to initiate a rescue plan."

The Doctor snatched it back, snapping, "Don't be an idiot! The Angels don't leave you alive!"

He spoke into the radio, "Bob, keep running, but tell me, how did you escape?"

"I didn't escape, Sir," Bob said. "The Angel killed me too."

Jordan buried their face in River's shoulders. The Doctor put a hand on his head, tone slightly weary, "What do you mean the Angel killed you too?"

"Snapped my neck, Sir. Wasn't as painless as I expected but it was pretty quick, so that was something."

"You can't mean…" River trailed off, pain in her voice, and Jordan nodded miserably, tears forming.

"If you're dead, how can I be talking to you?" the Doctor asked, mostly for the others' benefit, seeing the still confused looks on their faces.

"You're not talking to me, Sir," Bob answered promptly. "The Angel has no voice. It stripped my cerebral cortex from my body and re-animated a version of my consciousness to communicate with you. Sorry about the confusion."

"So when you say you're on your way up to us…" he asked, already knowing what Bob was going to say. Jordan sniffled slightly, shaking River's heavy hand from their body, walking over to the Doctor and holding his hand.

"It's the Angel that's coming, Sir," Bob confirmed, "yes."

"No way out," he said faintly, squeezing Jordan's hand.

"Then we get out through the wreckage," Father Octavian offered reasonably. "Go!"

"Go, go, go. All of you run!" the Doctor ushered them away urgently.

"Doctor?" Amy looked at him questioningly.

"Yes, I'm coming, just go, go, go!" he practically shoved them away.

Amy and River left with the clerics, but Jordan lingered, staying with the Doctor and Father Octavian.

"Called you an idiot. Sorry," he said, "but there's no way we could have rescued your men."

"I know that, Sir," Father Octavian said. "And when you've flown away in your little blue box, I'll explain that to their families." He walked off, and Jordan bore their eyes into his back, jaw clenched at that thinly veiled insult.

The Doctor put a soothing hand on their shoulder and then talked into the radio, "Angel Bob, which Angel am I talking to? The one from the ship?"

"Yes, Sir. The other Angels are still restoring."

"Ah," he replied, "so the Angel is not in the wreckage. Thank you."

He pulled Jordan along into the passage, skidding to a stop when he saw Amy staring intently at her clenched hand on a railing. "Don't wait for us, go, run."

"I can't!" she protested, hand still stuck on the railing. The Doctor pulled at her hand, but it held fast. "No, really I can't."

"Why not?"

"Look at it. Look at my hand. It's stone!" The other two looked down, only to see a regular hand.

"Are you sure you're not hallucinating?" Jordan asked, they poked at it. "It's still flesh to me."

"Positive, it's stone! I'm telling you."

The Doctor shone the torch in her eyes, "You looked into the eyes of the Angel, didn't you?" Jordan sucked in a harsh breath, hissing in understanding. They placed a hand on Amy's shoulder in support.

"I couldn't help myself, I tried."

"Was that when you switched…?" Jordan trailed off at her miserable nod.

"Listen," he placed his hands on her shoulders, dislodging Jordan's. He shot them a quick, apologetic stare before focussing on Amy. "It's messing with your head. Your hand is not made of stone."

"It is," she protested. "Look at it!"

"It's in your mind. I promise you.," the Doctor said calmly. "You can move that hand. You can let go."

"I can't, Okay? I've tried and I can't. It's stone." The torchlight began to flicker, and Jordan glanced up to see the Angels moving closer.

"The Angel is gonna come and it's gonna turn this light off," he said lowly, staring intently at Amy, "and then there's nothing I can do to stop it. So do it, concentrate, move your hand!"

Jordan bit their bottom lip. This was going nowhere, and they needed to go and fast. The two of them were stubbornly fighting each other, paying no attention to them. Hallucinations or dreams didn't work if the victim was in pain, they reasoned.

The light flickered off, and Jordan flinched, blinking and knowing that the Angels moved closer.

"Keep your eyes on it," the Doctor warmed them. "Don't blink."

"Run!" Amy cried desperately. Jordan sighed, this self-sacrifice thing was real annoying. They reached out and pinched her hand, hard enough to draw blood.

She recoiled quickly, hugging her hand to her chest "Ow! You pinched me!"

They shrugged, "When you're in a dream or want to know if you're in a dream, you pinch yourself."

"Yeah," she rubbed the small bruise, "but I wasn't in a dream."

"Your mind was," they tapped the side of their head, "we just needed you to wake up from it. Same principle."

"Amy Pond, you are magnificent. And I was thinking of biting you," the Doctor admitted at her shocked face. "I'm not leaving you, never. You're alive and not stone."

"I've got a mark! Look at my hand!" she brandished her hand in front of his face.

He pulled her and Jordan behind him, "Yeah, and you're alive, did I mention?"

"Blimey, I think I'm bleeding. Have you got alien strength?"

Jordan sighed and broke into a run, the Doctor fast behind them, saying, "Alive. All I'm saying."

* * *

"The statues are advancing along all corridors," a young cleric informed the group. "And, Sir, my torch keeps flickering."

"They all do," Father Octavian said.

"So does the gravity globe," River added.

"Clerics, we're down to four men. Expect incoming."

"Yeah, it's the Angels," the Doctor said, an arm around Jordan. "They're coming. And they're draining the power for themselves."

"Which means we won't be able to see them," the Bishop concluded.

"Which means we can't stay here," the Doctor corrected.

"There are more incoming!"

"Any suggestions?" River asked, slightly sarcastic.

"The statues are advancing on all sides and we don't have the climbing equipment to reach the Byzantium," the Bishop said, shooting a look at River.

"There's no way up, no way back, no way out. No pressure," she said dryly, looking at the Doctor, "but this is usually when you have a really good idea."

"There's always a way out," the Doctor's voice echoed throughout the passage. The lights flickered off again, coming back on with the Angels closer, basically blocking the passage.

"There's always a way out."

"Doctor? Jordan?" the Angel's voice crackled over the radio. "Can I speak to the Doctor and Jordan, please?"

The Doctor held the radio up between him and Jordan, "Hello Angel Bob. What's your problem?"

"Your power will not last much longer," the Angel said, "and the Angels will be with you shortly. Sorry, Sir, Mx."

"Why are you telling us this?"

The Angel paused before answering, "There's something the Angels are very keen Jordan should know before the end."

"Which is?" he asked for them.

"I'm sorry, Sir, but this is for Jordan. May I speak with them?"

"Right here," they said slightly weak.

"I died in fear," the Angel said.

"I'm sorry?" the Doctor asked, and Jordan paled.

"You told me my fear would make me freeze and I did, dying afraid, frozen in place, in pain and alone. You told me to keep fighting, that scared made me fast, made me trust you, and when it mattered, you let me down."

Jordan's breaths started coming out stuttered, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

The Doctor's arm around them was bruising, and they felt suffocated in his embrace, pushing him away.

"It seemed you were preparing me to die," the Angel continued, ignoring their apologies.

"What are they doing?" Amy whispered to River.

"They're trying to make him angry," she whispered back.

"I'm sorry, Mx," Angel Bob said. "The Angels were very keen for you to know that."

"Well then," the Doctor said lightly, pushing a shaking Jordan back in to River's embrace, "the Angels have made their second mistake because I'm not going to let that pass. I'm sorry you're dead, Bob, but I swear to whatever is left of you, they will be sorrier."

"But you're trapped, Sir," Angel Bob's voice somehow piquing with confusion, "and about to die."

"Yeah, I'm trapped," the Doctor conceded. "Speaking of traps, this trap has got a great big mistake in it. A great big, whopping mistake!"

"What mistake, Sir?" the Angel asked.

The Doctor didn't answer, looking over to Amy, "Trust me?"

"Yeah," she nodded.

"Trust me?" he asked River.

"Always," she promised.

The Doctor grabbed both of Jordan's hands, kissing the back of both of them, "Trust me?" he murmured.

They nodded shakily, squeezing his hands.

He grinned at that admission, kissing the back of their hands again before dropping them. Addressing the others, he asked, "You lot- trust me?"

"Sir, two more incoming!" a cleric warned, looking at the passages.

Father Octavian looked back at the passages before facing the Doctor, "We have faith, sir."

"Then give me your gun," he held out his hand, and the Bishop handed it over with only slight suspicion.

"I'm about to do something incredibly stupid and dangerous. When I do…" he jumped in place, "jump."

"Jump where?" Father Octavian asked.

"Just jump, high as you can," he said, cajoling Father Octavian. "Come on, leap of faith, Bishop. On my signal."

"What signal?"

"You won't miss it," he grinned darkly, aiming the gun at the roof.

"Sorry, can I ask again?" Angel Bob's voice came through the radio again. "You mentioned a mistake?"

"Oh, a big mistake," the Doctor said into the radio. "Huge. There's one thing you never put in a trap, if you're smart, if you value your continued existence, if you have any plans about seeing tomorrow, there is one thing you never, ever put in a trap."

"And what would that be, Sir?"

"Me!" And he fired the gun at the gravity globe.

* * *

Jordan rubbed their head, sitting on the ground after the jump, "Fuck, should've given more warning than 'jump' thanks."

"Sorry," the Doctor said, unapologetic, "but I didn't want the Angels to find out."

"Yeah, yeah," they grumbled, standing up with River's help. "I'm just saying."

"Just think of it as payback," he said.

"For what?"

"Spoilers."

"What happened?" Amy asked.

"We jumped," River answered her, and Amy looked at her uncomprehendingly.

"Jumped where?"

"Up, up, look up!" the Doctor cried.

"Where are we?" Amy asked again.

"Exactly where we were."

"Will you ever stop being so goddamn cryptic, River?" Jordan asked and groaned at River's answering laugh.

They ignored the cackling woman, "We're on the roof."

"Move your feet!" the Doctor said, sonicing an indentation on the floor.

"Doctor," Amy looked around, "what am I looking at? How can we be on the roof? Explain."

"Oh, come on, Amy, think!" he said slightly gleeful. "The ship crashed with the power still on, yeah? So what else is still on? We see that they are standing on the bottom of the Byzantium."

"The artificial gravity. One good jump," he jumped, "and up we fell. Shot out the grav-globe to give us an updraft, and here we are!"

He returned to sonic the indentation as Father Octavian went to the Doctor, "Doctor. The statues, they look more like Angels now."

"They're feeding on the radiation from the wreckage," he explained, the indent getting deeper, "draining all the power from the ship, restoring themselves. Within an hour, they'll be an army!"

The indentation opened up into the ship just as the lights started to go out, "They're taking out the lights. Look at them, look at the Angels. Into the ship, now, quickly all of you!"

He slipped into the hole, Jordan right behind him. Amy asked, peering into the hole, "But how? Doctor!"

"It's just a corridor," he told her, holding Jordan's hand. They waved at Amy as the Doctor explained, "The gravity orientates to the floor. Now, in here, all of you., don't take your eyes off the Angels. Move, move, move!"

He used the screwdriver on a keypad as Father Octavian ushered his men to join the Doctor and Jordan, "Okay, men, go, go, go!"

He stood near the Doctor, "The Angels, presumably they can jump up too?"

The door snapped shut once everyone was inside. The Doctor looked seriously at him, "They're here. Now. In the dark, we're finished. Run!"

A large door behind them closed, blocking their only escape. "This whole place is a death trap."

"No, it's a time bomb," the Doctor corrected then paused rethinking his words. "Well, it's a death trap and a time bomb. And now it's a dead end. Nobody panic."

"Oh, just me then," he said as the Angels banged on the door. "What's through here?"

"Secondary flight deck," River said.

"Okay," Amy said, "so we've basically run up the inside of a chimney, yeah? So what if the gravity fails?"

River crossed the room, beginning to work on something Jordan couldn't tell.

"I've thought about that," the Doctor addressed Amy.

"And?"

"And we'll all plunge to our deaths," he said simply. "See. I've thought about it. The security protocols are still live. There's no way to override them, it's impossible."

"How impossible?" River piped up.

"Two minutes."

The hum of the engines powered down and their way in had reopened, the cavern outside in clear view.

"The hull is breached and the power's failing," Father Octavian said.

The lights blacked out, and Jordan could see the arm of an Angel through the opening. They held their breath in anticipation in fear, holding onto the Doctor's arm painfully tight. He rubbed their arm soothingly.

"Sir!" a cleric yelled, voice frightened. "Incoming!"

"Doctor! Lights," Amy demanded.

The Doctor used the sonic, and the lights came on briefly, an Angel making its way inside. The lights went out again then came on brighter to show four Angels inside the corridor with them.

"Clerics, keep watching them," Father Octavian ordered, a tiny hint of fear in his voice.

"And don't look at their eyes," the Doctor added seriously. "Anywhere else. Not the eyes. I've isolated the lighting grid. They can't drain the power now."

"Good work, Doctor," the Bishop said..

"Drop the other show, Doctor," Jordan said, hearing the hesitant sound in his voice.

"Yes. Er, that is good. Good in many ways, good you like it so far…"

"So far?" Amy asked suspiciously.

"Well," he drew out the syllable, and Jordan could swear they heard the tenth Doctor with that elongated word, "there's only one way to open this door. I guess I'll need to route all the power in this section through the door control."

"You can't be fucking serious," Jordan muttered, and the Doctor shrugged, apologetic.

"Good, fine, do it," Father Octavian said, not understanding the situation.

The Doctor hesitated, adding, "Including the lights. All of them. I'll need to turn out the lights."

"How long for?"

"Fraction of a second, maybe longer," he said. "Maybe quite a bit longer."

"Maybe?" the Bishop asked incredulously.

"I'm guessing. We're being attacked by statues in a crashed ship, there isn't a manual for this!" he defended himself. Jordan rubbed his arm in up and down motions soothingly.

"Doctor, we lost the torches," Amy said urgently. "We'll be in total darkness."

"No other way," he said gravely. "Bishop?"

"Dr Song, I've lost good Clerics today," the Bishop said. "You trust this man?"

"I absolutely trust him," she replied firmly.

"He's not some kind of madman then?"

River only hesitated for a split second, unnoticeable to anyone but Jordan, "I absolutely trust him."

"Excuse me," the Doctor said, and Jordan heard the tinge of pride in his tone. He moved out of Jordan's hold and went back to work on the door.

"I'm trusting your word," he hissed at River, "because you're the only one who can manage this guy and it doesn't help that they don't seem to be doing anything."

The Bishop waved slightly at Jordan, "But that only works so long as they don't know who you are. You cost me any more men, and I might just tell him. Understood?"

"Understood," River said thickly.

"Okay," Octavian spoke louder. "Doctor, we've got your back."

"Bless you, Bishop."

"Combat distance, ten feet," Father Octavian instructed his clerics. "As soon as the lights go down, continuous fire. Full spread over the hostiles. Do not stop firing while the lights are out. Shotgun protocol, we don't have bullets to waste."

"Amy," the Doctor addressed her, "when the lights go down, the wheel should release. Spin it clockwise, four turns."

"Ten." Jordan looked sharply at her, suspicions growing.

"No," he said, brows furrowing, "four, four turns."

"Yeah, four, I heard you," she nodded, taking position at the door.

"Ready!" he placed the sonic into the circuit.

"On my count then," the Bishop said. "God be with us all. Three... two...one."

The lights went out, "Fire!" The clerics opened fire on the Angels.

"Turn!" the Doctor barked at Amy, who frantically started to turn it, Jordan helping her.

"Doctor, quickly!" River warned him.

"It's opening," Amy cried, the opening getting bigger, "it's working!"

Amy and Jordan slipped through the opening, River quickly following behind.

"Fall back!" Octavian shouted. The clerics moved through the doorway followed by Octavian and the Doctor. They moved down a similar corridor to another door.

The Doctor held the door open with the sonic as the others go through.

"Doctor, quickly," River ushered him.

He ran to join them as the door slammed shut behind him.

"What were you saying about our life not being a horror movie?" Jordan panted out.

"Sorry if I hadn't anticipated killer statues coming after us."

They were in a flight deck in major disrepair with exposed wires all over the console. The Doctor immediately went to one of the controls.

"Doctor!" Amy screamed when the hatch lock spun shut and Octavian placed a device on the door.

"What are you doing?" the Doctor asked.

"Magnetized the door. Nothing could turn that wheel now," Octavian said smugly.

"Yeah?" he asked disbelievingly. The wheel began to turn behind him.

"Dear God!"

"Ah, now you're getting it!" he said. "You've bought us time though, that's good. I am good with time."

"Doctor!" Jordan was staring at the other door wheel spinning.

"Seal that door. Seal it now!" Octavian demanded hurriedly. A cleric placed a magnetic device on the second door.

"We're surrounded!" River exclaimed.

The third door began to spin open. "Seal it, seal that door!"

A second cleric placed the device on the door. "Doctor, how long have we got?"

"Five minutes, max."

"Nine," Amy said out of the blue.

He looked sharply at Amy, "Five."

"Five, right yeah."

"Why'd you say nine?" the Doctor asked suspiciously.

"I didn't," she denied.

Jordan sidled up next to the Doctor whispering in his ear, "I think that the Angel isn't done playing, and they're toying with Amy even more."

He nodded tightly, eyes hard.

"We need another way out of here," River said.

"There isn't one," Father Octavian declined.

"Yeah, there is, " the Doctor said lightly, acting as if Jordan hadn't said anything, "'course there is. This is a galaxy class ship, goes for years between planet-falls. So-"

He clicked his fingers, "what do they need?"

"Of course," River breathed in realization.

The Doctor snapped his fingers again at River. Jordan looked between them, confused. The Angels were living, breathing creatures. What would they-? Oh.

Amy voiced her question, "Of course, what? What do they need?"

"Can we get in there?" Father Octavian asked.

"Well, it's a sealed unit, but they must have installed it somehow. This whole wall should slide up," he pressed against the rear wall. "There's clamps. Release the clamps!" He used the sonic on the clamps.

"What's through there?" Amy asked again, frustration leaking through her voice. "What do they need?"

"They need to breathe," River explained to her. The door slowly started to rise.

The Doctor smiled, wrapping his arm around Jordan, and Amy had an awestruck expression on her face, "But that's- That's a…"

The door opened fully and lush vegetation and trees was on the other side.

"It's an oxygen factory," River said gently.

"It's a forest," Amy said, stunned.

"Yeah, it's a forest, it's an oxygen factory."

"And," the Doctor jumped in, "if we're lucky, an escape route."

"Eight," Amy said.

"What did you say?" River looked at her suspiciously.

"Nothing," she denied.

"Is there another exit?" the Doctor asked, looking around. "Scan the architecture, we don't have time to get lost in there."

"On it!" Octavian agreed, stepping into the forest. "Stay where you are until I've checked the Rad levels."

"But trees! On a spaceship?" Amy asked, still in shock.

"Oh, more than trees, way better than trees. You're going to love this, Jordan," he unwrapped himself and stepped into the forest.

"Tree-borgs…" he opened a section of peat moss to reveal circuitry. "Trees plus technology. Branches become cables, become sensors on the hull. A forest sucking in starlight, breathing out air. It even rains. There's a whole mini-climate. It is an eco-pod running through the heart of the ship. A forest in a bottle, on a spaceship, in a maze. Have I impressed you yet, Amy Pond?"

Jordan whistled, "Talk about technology and nature saving the planet."

Amy chuckled, "Seven."

"Seven?" the Doctor joined them back on the flight deck.

"Sorry, what?" she asked.

"You said seven" he studied her face.

"No. I didn't."

"Yes, you did," River and Jordan said simultaneously.

"You're counting down," Jordan told her, then with realization. "You're counting down."

"Doctor!" Octavian interrupted. "There's an exit, far end of the ship, into the Primary Flight Deck."

"Good, that's where we need to go. "

"Plotting a safe path," Octavian said.

He continued to study Amy, and Jordan could slightly see the pain in his eyes from their earlier words. "Quick as you like!"

The radio crackled again with Angel Bob's voice, "Doctor? Excuse me. Hello, Doctor? Angel Bob here, Sir."

The Doctor straightened, plopping down into the command seat and taking Jordan down with him. He sat them in his lap, arms around their waist. They were slightly surprised at the sudden switch in position but resigned themself into their position.

"Ah. there you are, Angel Bob. How's life?" he smiled darkly. "Sorry, bad subject. "

"The Angels are wondering what you hope to achieve."

"Achieve? We're not achieving anything," he lied. "We're just hanging. It's nice in here, consoles, comfy chairs, a forest. How's things with you?"

"The Angels are feasting, Sir," Angel Bob replied. "Soon we will be able to absorb enough power to consume this vessel, this world, and all the stars and worlds beyond."

"Well, we've got comfy chairs, did I mention?"

"We have no need of comfy chairs."

"I made him say comfy chairs!" he exclaimed happily, squeezing Jordan's waist, prompting them to smile.

Amy laughed, "Six."

He gently nudged Jordan out of his lap before standing quickly, "Okay, well, enough chat. Here's what I want to know: what have you done to Amy?"

"There is something in her eye,"Angel Bob responded.

"What is with everyone and cryptic responses?" Jordan asked, "Do you just enjoy being mysterious?"

"What's in her eye?"

"We are."

"What's he talking about? Doctor, I'm five." Everyone stared at Amy, and she realized her blunder, "I mean, five. Fine! I'm _fine_."

"You're counting," River explained.

"Counting?"

"You're counting down. From ten," the Doctor said simply. "You have been for a couple of minutes."

"Why?"

"I don't know. But Jordan seems to think that the Angels have done something to make you do it."

"Well, counting down to what, then?"

"I don't know," he said.

"We shall take her,"Angel Bob answered. "We shall take all of you. We shall have dominion over all time and space."

"Get a life, Bob," the Doctor sat down again, taking Jordan down with him. Jordan sighed at all the moving, not liking the physical manipulation. "Oops, sorry again. There's power on this ship, but nowhere near that much."

"With respect, Sir, there is more power on this ship than you yet understand."

There was a loud, horrible screeching, and Jordan winced, hunching over and clapping their hands over their ears. The Doctor shushed them soothingly, lightly rocking them back in forth.

"Dear God, what is it?" River said despairingly.

"They're back," Father Octavian said grimly.

"It's hard to put in your terms, Dr Song," Angel Bob said, "but as best I understand it, the Angels are laughing."

"Laughing?" the Doctor asked in disbelief.

"Because you haven't noticed yet. The Doctor in the TARDIS hasn't noticed," Angel Bob said mockingly, a change from the usual monotone.

"Doctor!"

The Doctor helped a hunched over Jordan up, a hand on the small of their back. He ushered them into River's arms, "No, wait, there's something...I've…"

He slowly turned to see a glowing crack high in the wall, "Missed."

The Doctor ran back to the wall. Jordan held their breath at the familiar scene, immediately knowing what it was: a crack in time and space.

"That's…" Amy said. "That's like the crack from my bedroom wall from when I was a little girl."

"Yes."

"Okay, enough," Father Octavian barked, "we're moving out!"

"Agreed." River nodded, an arm around Jordan, "Doctor?"

"Yeah. Fine!" he used the sonic on the crack.

"What are you doing?" River asked, untangling from Jordan to look over his shoulder.

"Right with you," the Doctor dismissed her.

"We're not leaving without you!" River denied, Jordan slipped to the Doctor's side, not that he noticed so intent on his sonic.

"Oh. yes you are," he looked straight at her. "Bishop?"

"Miss Pond, Dr Song, now!" Father Octavian demanded.

River grabbed Amy and pulled her to the forest, Amy protesting the whole way.

"Jordan, why didn't you go?" he asked when he looked up and saw them standing next to him.

"We're connected, aren't we?" they shrugged. "Where you go, I go."

He sighed at their admittance before turning back to the crack, "So, what are you?"

"A crack in time and space," Jordan answered.

"That's impossible," the Doctor denied.

"So's time travel."

"Maybe for you humans," he dismissed, and Jordan gasped as they felt their collar being grabbed. They started to slowly take off their button up shirt, sliding the sleeves down their arms.

The Doctor didn't notice and looked at the readings from the screwdriver, "Oh, that's bad. Ah, that's extremely very not good." He pressed ear against the wall and when he turned back, he was surrounded by Angels.

Jordan could see the anger in the Doctor's eyes when he realized that they were captured. "Do not blink." Jordan's heart started to pound furiously, and vicious thoughts about death were starting to pop up. They resolutely pushed them away.

He climbed over the console to get past them but was also grabbed by his jacket collar. "Why are we not dead then?:

Turning nervously, he saw that the Angels had their hands up to the crack as if worshipping it. "Good, and not so good. Oh, this isn't even a little bit good. I mean, is that it? Is that the power that brought you here? That's pure time energy, you can't feed on that."

The Doctor continued to ramble, and Jordan was close to taking their button up off, "That's the power, that's the fire at the end of the universe. I'll tell you something else…"

There was a loud rumbling, and Jordan slipped their shirt off along with the Doctor, "Never let me talk!"

The Doctor took Jordan's hand, and the two ran off into the forest leaving their garments in the hands of the Angels.

* * *

"Father Octavian," Jordan heard River's voice say, "when the Doctor is in the room, your only mission is to keep him alive long enough to get everyone else home. And trust me. It's not easy."

They heard her inhale sharply, "Now, if he's dead back there, I'll never forgive myself. If Jordan died there with him, I'd kill him again. And if he's alive, I'll never forgive him. And, Doctor, you're standing right behind me, aren't you?"

"Oh, yeah," the Doctor grinned, swinging his and Jordan's hands.

River turned to face them and the Doctor, "I hate you!"

"You don't, and especially not Jordan. Bishop, the Angels are in the forest." He went to Amy's side.

"We need visual contact on every line of approach." Father Octavian said.

"How did you get past them?" River asked, eyeing Jordan and the Doctor's bare shoulders.

Jordan shrugged, rubbing their arms, and the Doctor replied flippantly, "Found a crack in the wall and told them it was the end of the universe."

"What was it?" Amy asked.

"The end of the universe," he said. "Let's have a look then."

He checked the med-scanner, and Amy asked "So. what's wrong with me?"

"Nothing. you're fine," River said.

"Everything, you're dying," the Doctor contradicted.

"Doctor!" River hissed at him, and Jordan hit the back of his head in agreement.

He rubbed his head, shooting them a look, "Yes, you're right, if we lie to her, she'll get all better! Right. Amy! Amy. what's the matter with Amelia? Something's in her eye. What does that mean? Doesn't mean anything."

"Doctor," Amy urged him.

"Busy."

"Scared!" she hissed.

"'Course, you're dying, shut up!" Jordan hit the back of his head again, shooting him a warning look.

"Okay, just let him think," River soothed.

The Doctor stood, "What happened? She stared at the Angel, she looked into the eyes of an angel for too long…"

"It's an image seared into her brain," Jordan added, and the Doctor had a contemplative look at those words.

"The image of an Angel is an Angel," Amy agreed.

"A living image in a human mind," the Doctor gasped in realization. "We stare at them to stop them getting closer, we don't even blink and that's exactly what they want, cos as long as our eyes are open, they can climb inside. There's an Angel in her mind."

He put a hand over his mouth, and Amy said in terror, "Three. Doctor, it's coming. I can feel it. I'm going to die!"

"She's constantly seeing the Angel when she's looking," Jordan cut the Doctor off when he seemed about to snap at Amy.

"Bob, why are they making her count?" he asked.

"To make her afraid, Sir," Angel Bob answered promptly.

"Okay, but why. what for?"

"For fun, Sir."

The Doctor growled in frustration and threw away the radio.

"Doctor, what's happening to me? Explain!" Amy demanded.

"Inside your head, in the vision centres of your brain, there's an Angel," he said rapidly, and sat by Amy. "It's like there's a screen, a virtual screen inside your mind, and the Angel is climbing out of it, and it's coming to shut you off."

"Then what do I do?"

The Doctor stood up, "If it was a real screen, what would we do, we'd pull the plug. but we can't just knock her out, the Angel would take over!"

Jordan bit their lip, these people loved to argue, didn't they? How did people stop something they see? They can't, that's the problem.

But they can pretend that they can't see it. Ignorance was bliss after all, and they realized what should happen.

They sighed at the bickering, and they shoved their hand in Amy's face, closing her eyes for her. "Hey, what the hell, Jordan?!"

The Doctor sighed when Amy stopped counting, and the scanner beeped. River looked at it, the readings returned to green. "She's normalising. You did it! You did it! How did you know how to do that?"

Jordan shrugged, hand still on Amy's face, "How do you stop seeing something? You close your eyes. Like when a child closes their eyes and thinks that there's nothing there. Now Amy, keep. Your. Eyes. Closed. Got it?"

She nodded, and Jordan removed their hand.

River put away her scanner, "Still weak, dangerous to move her."

"So, can I open my eyes now?" Amy asked.

The Doctor bent down in front of Amy, "Amy, listen to me. If you open your eyes now for more than a second, you will die. The Angel is still inside you. We haven't stopped it, we've just sort of...paused it. You've nearly used up your countdown, but thanks to Jordan you still have time. But you _cannot_ open your eyes."

"Doctor, we're too exposed here," the Bishop said. "We have to move on."

The Doctor straightened, "We're exposed everywhere, and Amy can't move. Anyway, that's not the plan."

"There's a plan?" River asked dubiously, sitting next to Amy, comforting her.

"I don't know yet," he admitted to Jordan's annoyance. "I haven't finished talking. Right! Father, you and your Clerics will stay here, look after Amy. If anything happens to her, I'll hold each of you personally responsible, twice. River, you and me, we're going to find the Primary Flight Deck which is…."

He licked his finger and held it up to test the air, "A quarter mile straight ahead. We'll stabilise the wreckage. stop the Angels, and cure Amy."

"How?"

"I'll do a thing," he said vaguely.

"What thing?" River pressed.

"I don't know, it's a thing in progress. Respect the thing," he snapped quickly. "Moving out!"

"Doctor, I'm coming with you," Father Octavian said. "My clerics can look after Miss Pond. These are my best men, they'd lay down their lives in her protection."

"I don't need you," the Doctor said simply.

"I don't care. Where Dr Song goes, I go."

"What?" he looked at River, who had come up to the three of them, and then back to Octavian. "You two engaged or something?"

"Yes, in a manner of speaking. Marco, you're in charge till I get back." The cleric saluted.

"Doctor... Please," Amy pleaded, "can't I come with you?"

"You'd slow us down, Miss Pond," Octavian said bluntly.

"I don't want to sound selfish, but you'd really speed me up."

The Doctor sat down next to Amy again, "You'll be more safe here. We can't protect you on the move. I'll be back for you soon as I can. I promise."

"You always say that."

"And I always come back," he said with a smile and stood. "Good luck everyone. Behave. Do not let that girl open her eyes. And keep watching the forest. Stop those Angels advancing. Amy, later!"

He tapped her on the head in farewell, "River, going to need your computer." The four of them left.

"Yeah. Later," Amy said sadly.

* * *

Father Octavian led the other three through the forest. There was a beeping, and the Doctor checked the device letting go of Jordan's hand. They walked forward with Father Octavian.

"What's that?" River asked, peering over his shoulder.

"Readings from a crack in a wall."

"How can a crack in the wall be the end of the universe?"

"Here's what I think," he said, looking up at her. "One day there'll be a very big bang, so big every moment in history - past and future - will crack."

"Is that possible? How?"

"How can you be engaged in a manner of speaking?" he asked back.

"Well...sucker for a man in uniform." River smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.

Father Octavian walked over with Jordan, "Dr Song is in my personal custody. I released her from the Stormcage Containment Facility four days ago and I am legally responsible for her until she has accomplished her mission and earned her pardon. Just so we understand each other."

"You were in Stormcage?" he asked bewildered and before River could answer the device beeped.

"What? What is that?"

"The date!" the Doctor gasped in realization. "The date of the explosion where the crack begins."

Jordan raised their eyebrow as River asked dryly, "And for those of us who can't read the base code of the universe?"

"Amy's time!"

The Doctor took the readings from the handheld as Father Octavian and Jordan looked for a way in with River standing guard.

"It doesn't open it from here, but it's the Primary Flight Deck," Father Octavian reported as Jordan continued to look around. "This has got to be a service hatch or something."

" Hurry up and open it, time's running out," River said, and the Bishop walked the other way to investigate.

"What?" the Doctor's head snapped up at that statement. "What did you say? Time's running out, is that what you said?"

"Yeah," River started unsurely. "I just meant…"

" I know what you meant. hush! But what if it could?"

"You can't seriously be suggesting that time can run out?" Jordan called back, walking back toward the small group.

"Got it!" Father Octavian cried.

"Cracks in time, time running out... No, couldn't be. How is a duck pond a duck pond if there aren't any ducks? And she didn't recognise the Daleks! OK, time can shift. Time can change. Time can be rewritten. Ah! Oh!" the Doctor cried in realization.

"Dr Song, get through, now," Father Octavian said to her, helping River through the hatch. "Doctor? Doctor?"

The Doctor was doing calculations in the air, and Jordan was behind him. Father Octavian looked at them, and they shrugged, ushering him away.

He obliged, climbing through the hatch as the Doctor paused.

"Time can be unwritten."

The Doctor hit the side of his head, "It's been happening, and I haven't even noticed! My God, that's what Jordan meant!"

The named person eyed him oddly but kept silent, watching him warily. They knew that the two of them needed to go right away, otherwise they were sitting ducks for the Angels.

"The CyberKing! A giant cyberman walks over all of Victorian London and no one remembers!" he exclaimed, starting to pace back and forth.

"Doctor, we have to move," Jordan said gently. "This revelation can continue in the Primary Flight Deck. The Angels could be here any second."

They put a hand on the Doctor's shoulder, but he shrugged it off, "Never mind the Angels. There's worse here than Angels!"

The lights went out and Jordan felt something crawl up their spine, some primary instinct telling them to duck.

They ducked, and an immense pain encircled their left wrist. They let out a cry of pain. The lights came back on, and Jordan could see the Angel with an arm around their wrist.

The Doctor was thunderous as he pulled out his sonic screwdriver, pointing it at the Angel. His voice was low and threatening as he growled, "Let them go."

"They can't let me go," Jordan said, a sad attempt of a smile on their face. "Not when you're looking at them."

"I can't stop looking at it," he said lowly, voice trembling. His lip quivered at the thought, "It'll kill you if I do."

"All things must die," they said, anxiety for the first time quiet in their mind. They were at peace with this, saving the Doctor and Father Octavian. They knew that the Doctor would save the clerics, save Amy.

"But not you," he cried. "Never you!"

"There's nothing you can do, Doctor. Just go."

"I'm not going!"

"River needs you," they nodded toward the hatch which was right beside him. "You've shown me wonderful things already. Your story's just beginning."

"So's yours," he retorted, crossing over to them and the Angel. He stood right in front of them, staring at both intently. "Don't think you could've hid it from me. You didn't call Amy's name at all until I introduced her to River. I heard you say that you hadn't been in _my_ TARDIS before. If I could hazard a guess, this is your second trip. Oh, you told me it was going to be your second!"

"Time can be rewritten, like you said."

"Not like this, never like this. I'm _never_ leaving you, Elliott," he swore.

"You've got to."

"I'm not."

"You are," they said, and they gave him a gentle smile before kicking him back into the hatch. The Doctor made a cry of outrage as he fell in, and the hatch snapped shut with a loud bang.

Jordan lowered their head, ready for a quick and painful death. They breathed out heavily, sagging under the Angel's grip.

"Right," they said after several moments of still being alive. "Why aren't you killing me?"

"I told you I'd never leave."

Jordan's head shot up, and they saw the Doctor swagger toward them. "What… the hell? You have a jacket. Wrong Doctor."

"Same Doctor," he pointed at them. "Different time."

"Right, that makes sense." They nodded even though they didn't understand, "How are you going to get me out of this without any of us dying?"

He winced, "Er- still working on it. And I'm on a bit of a time crunch too, so if you could help out."

"Right, okay. Let's break my wrist."

"What?" the Doctor exclaimed.

"Well it's either that or kill me!" they snapped.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Elliott," he retorted.

"Well, what are you going to do then?" they challenged him, brown eyes glinting in fear and anger.

His eyes lit up, "An Angel's practically stone when we're looking at it. So they have the same materials as stone. If I could give it just enough pressure…."

He rummaged in his pockets and pulled out a water bottle. Dumping the contents on the Angel before he took out his sonic. The sonic screwdriver whirred, and Jordan could feel the grip of the Angel loosening.

The Angel made a small cry of what seemed like pain, and the stone fixture of the Angel's hand started to splinter off.

The fragments started to get bigger and bigger, splintering off faster by the second until half of the Angel's arm exploded into pieces.

Jordan ducked, and their wrist came away easily. They looked up, and the Angel had moved slightly toward them, the Doctor's gaze keeping them at bay.

"Alright, Elliott, suppose this is goodbye," the Doctor said, and something in his tone was so final that their heart ached.

Jordan inched toward the hatch. "Don't suppose you can open this for me?"

"I will, are you right next to it?"

Jordan nodded before realizing that he couldn't see their nod, vocalizing, "Yep."

His arm shot out behind him, and the sonic whirred once more. The hatch handle spun slowly counter-clockwise until it creaked open.

"Will you be alright?" they couldn't help but ask.

"Ah, don't worry about me," he said, a smile in his tone. "I'll be alright. Just get on, shift."

Jordan hesitated before they went to the Doctor and hugged him behind his back. They felt him tense slightly before they let go and slipped into the hatch. "Bye, Doctor."

They closed the hatch firmly behind them, and Jordan heard the sonic whir again, assuming that the Doctor had locked it behind him.

The other three's back was to them, as they stared forward. The Doctor had a radio in his hand, "Because, Amy, this is important. The forest is full of Angels."

"Thank God I got out of there then," Jordan quipped lightly.

The Doctor stiffened, and River gasped. Father Octavian cocked his gun, spinning around and pointing at them.

They held up their hands in a placating manner, "Whoa, whoa- it's just me."

"Wha- but- how?" River breathed out in shock.

"Jordan?" the Doctor asked, voice shaky, and Jordan rubbed the back of their neck.

"Surprise?" they said, smiling sheepishly.

The Doctor dropped his radio, launching himself over the controls and bringing them into a bruising embrace. He buried his face in their curls, breathing in their scent. "Don't ever, _ever_ do that again."

Jordan returned the hug, feeling warmth at the thought of being missed. "I'll try my best."

He stiffened and tightened his arms around them at that statement, and Jordan patted his back consolingly.

"Doctor?" Amy's voice came through the radio. "Doctor, are you there?"

"You need to finish with this adventure," Jordan whispered.

"Not yet."

"Amy, it's River," she said, speaking into the radio and taking the Doctor's place. "Just walk like you can see."

"What do you mean?"

"Just- just keep moving," she said, still shaken.

The Doctor reluctantly let Jordan go, but still held them in his arms, taking the radio back from River.

River grabbed Jordan's hand, leaving her fingers on their pulse. "That time energy, what's it going to do?"

"Er- keep eating," the Doctor said, breaking his gaze away from Jordan to look straight ahead.

"How do we stop it?" she asked.

"Feed it."

"Feed it what?" she pressed, and Jordan could see the agitation in the Doctor's shoulders. He stood up abruptly and walked forward.

"A big complicated space-time event should shut it up for a while."

"Like what, for instance?" Jordan tried to stop her, squeezing warningly.

The Doctor snapped, shouting, "Like me, for instance!"

"Shut up!" Jordan shouted. "The both of you. We can talk about how to finish this later. Right now, we need to focus on Amy."

The Doctor nodded tersely, and River acquiesced. Father Octavian said, "If I may, there's a short range transport right there. If Dr Song and I could get it to work…."

"Brilliant idea, Bishop!" the Doctor said, glad for the distraction. Father Octavian went to the teleport, and River reluctantly let Jordan go. The Doctor picked up the communicator again, "Amy. listen to me. This is going to be hard but I know, but you can do it. The Angels are scared and running and right now they're not that interested in you. They'll assume you can see them and their instincts will kick in. All you've got to do is walk like you can see. Just don't open your eyes. Walk like you can see. You're not moving. You have to do this."

Jordan held their breath, and the Doctor said softly, "Now."

The next few moments were tense as the Doctor aided Amy into walking, and River and the Bishop were working on the teleport.

There was a sudden thud, and Amy cried, "Doctor, I can't find the communicator! I dropped it! I can't find it. Doctor!"

"Amy, don't panic," he urged her. "Dr Song is working on a-"

There was a bright flash, and Amy appeared in River's arms, "Don't open your eyes. You're on the Flight Deck, the Doctor's here. Father Octavian and I teleported you."

The Doctor let out a sigh of relief, "River Song, I could bloody well kiss you."

"Ah, well, when you're older," she replied easily.

An alarm blared, and Jordan looked around, "What's that?"

"The Angels are draining the last of the ship's power, which means... the shield's going to release!" The shield to the forest opened just as he said that, and they were confronted by a large number of Angels.

The Doctor stepped forward protectively, "Angel Bob, I presume."

"The Time Field is coming. It will destroy our reality."

"Yeah, and look at you," he scoffed, "all running away. What can I do for you?"

"There is a rupture in time. The Angels calculate that if you throw yourself and your equivalent into it, it will close and they will be saved."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," the Doctor dismissed, and Jordan vaguely wondered if they were the equivalent. "Could do, could do that. But why?"

"Your friends would also be saved," Angel Bob replied simply.

"Well, there is that," he said as if considering it.

River stepped up to the Doctor, "I've travelled in time. I'm a complicated space/time event, too. Throw me in."

"Oh, be serious!" he scoffed at her. "Compared to me, these Angels are more complicated than you and it would take every one of them to amount to me, so get a grip."

"Wait- you don't mean…" Jordan started, trailing off. He turned to them and winked. The Angels had drained all of the ship's power, including the gravity.

"See? Jordan gets it. I mean it. River, Amy, Bishop get a grip."

"You're not going to die-!" she started before realizing his plan. "Oh, you genius!"

River rushed to Amy and the Bishop, and Jordan gripped the handle tight.

"Sir, the Angels need you to sacrifice yourself now."

"Thing is, Bob, the Angels are draining all the power from this ship, every last bit of it. And you know what? I think they've forgotten where they're standing. I think they've forgotten the gravity of the situation. Or to put it another way, Angels…"

"You hold on tight and don't you let go for anything." River placed Amy's hands on a handle attached to the panel before gripping one herself. "Copy me, Bishop."

The Doctor smirked, waving, "Night-night." As the gravity failed the Doctor casually turned to grip a handle himself.

The deck turned to its side and the five of them hung on for dear life as the Angels were sucked into the crack. There was a burst of light, and the crack in the secondary flight deck closed.

* * *

Jordan watched as the Doctor and Father Octavian talked in hushed tones. Amy sat beside them, wrapped in a blanket.

The Doctor walked to the pair, wrapping an arm around Jordan's waist.

Amy said lightly, "Ah, Bruised everywhere."

"Me too," the Doctor said, and Jordan grinned.

"You didn't have to climb out with your eyes shut," she retorted.

"Neither did you," he said. "I kept saying. The Angels all fell into the time field. The Angel in your memory never existed. It can't harm you now."

"Then why do I remember it at all?" Amy countered, and Jordan tilted their head in agreement. "Those guys on the ship didn't remember each other."

"You're a time traveller now, Amy. Changes the way you see the universe forever. Good, isn't it?" he smiled at her.

"And the crack?" she asked hesitantly. "Is that gone too?"

"Yeah," he nodded tightly, a fake smile on his face. Jordan squeezed him in comfort. "For now. But the explosion that caused it is still happening... somewhere out there, somewhere in time."

"You, Jordan, me… handcuffs," River smiled seductively, holding out her hands encased in cuffs. "Must it always end this way?"

"What now?"

"The prison ship is in orbit," she nodded up. "They'll beam me up any second. I might have done enough to earn a pardon this time. We'll see."

"Octavian said you killed a man," he said lowly enough for Amy not to hear.

"Yes. I did," she nodded. "A good man. A very good man. The best man I've ever known."

"Who?"

"It's a long story, Doctor, can't be told. It has to be lived. No sneak previews. Well, except for this one: you'll see me again quite soon, when the Pandorica opens."

"The Pandorica, ha!" he mocked and whispered in her ear. "That's a fairy tale."

River laughed, "Oh, Doctor, aren't we all? I'll see you there."

"I look forward to it," he said amusedly.

"I remember it well."

The Doctor chuckled, and Amy waved to her, "Bye. River."

"See you. Amy," she said and her handcuffs beeped. "Oh! I think that's my ride."

River leaned toward Jordan, kissing their cheek. They flushed slightly, and the Doctor moved them away. "Can I trust you. River Song?"

"If you like, but where's the fun in that?" she laughed and teleported away.

The Doctor turned and looked out at the ocean.

"What are you thinking?" Amy asked.

"Time can be rewritten," he said, rubbing Jordan's hip absentmindedly.

Their necklace flashed a white light, and they looked down surprised, "Damn, that early?"

"It differs, journey to journey," the Doctor explained sadly. "Sometimes you're here for weeks, others only half an adventure. But you always come back to me."

"Right, well, I didn't see my cat at all today," they said. "So take care of Anubis, yeah?"

He nodded, "I'll see you soon."

"Until next time," they bid, and they flashed away in a white light.

* * *

 _"_ _Where are we?"_

 _"_ _Earth, Utah, North America. About half a mile underground."_

 _"_ _An old friend of mine... well, enemy. The stuff of nightmares reduced to an exhibit. I'm getting old."_

 _"_ _Fantastic! Oh, fantastic! Powerless! Look at you. The Great Space Dustbin. How does it feel?"_

 _"_ _Because it honestly believes they should die. Human beings are different, and anything different is wrong. It's the ultimate in racial cleansing and you, Van Statten, you've let it loose!"_

 _"_ _I killed her once. I can't do it again."_

* * *

 **Hello, hello, hello!**

 **So sorry that I was nearly late in updating. Extra long chapter to make up for it. I just saw the premier of season 11, and let me just tell you that it was brilliant! I won't spoil anything, just know that Jodie** _ **definitely**_ **lives up to the title. I hope that this answers any questions, and that you enjoyed it. Jordan's not much of a talker, they prefer to just watch, making comments here and there and saving some lives sometimes too. Thank you all so much for reading. All mistakes are mine, and if you could, please, comment below what you liked or disliked that would aboslutely make my day. And I will see _you_ in the next chapter.**

 **Goodbye, bye, bye!**


	4. Dalek

Rose and the Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS, and Rose looked at the Doctor expectantly, "So, what is it? What's wrong?"

"Don't know, some kind of signal drawing the TARDIS off course…" the Doctor looked around, examining the items encased in glass.

"Where are we?"

"Earth, Utah, North America," the Doctor replied distractedly, leaning over to examine a specimen. "About half a mile underground."

"And... when are we?"

"2012."

"God, that's so close," Rose said, slightly overwhelmed, "so I should be... 26."

The Doctor flicked a switch, and lights flooded the museum. He felt slightly sick, seeing parts of aliens displayed as if they were the latest toy.

Distantly, he wondered if this adventure Jordan would join him. He wanted to apologize for the… lashing out he had against him - er them. He didn't like to think of it, but he was regretful, apologetic even.

"Blimey!" Rose's remark made him turn to face her. "It's a great big museum!"

"An alien museum," the Doctor pushed those thoughts out of his head, focussing on the situation at hand. "Someone's got a hobby. They must've spent a fortune on this. Chunks of meteorite, moon dust... that's the milometer from the Roswell Spaceship."

He started walking past the exhibits, naming them. The two stopped at a familiar looking green arm.

"That's a bit of Slitheen!" Rose cried, pointing at it. "That's a Slitheen's arm, it's been stuffed."

The Doctor nodded distractedly, eyes catching something else. "Ah! Look at you!"

He approached a glass case, smirking slightly at the head of a Cyberman. The Doctor stared through the glass at it, memories rising up unbidden. Rose stood behind him, toes lifting her up to peer over his shoulder.

"What is it?" she asked in concern, eyes tilting up at him worriedly.

"An old friend of mine…" he struggled to keep his voice even, but when Rose seemed not to have a reaction to a change in tone, he continued, "Well, enemy. The stuff of nightmares reduced to an exhibit. I'm getting old."

"Is that where the signal's coming from?"

"Nah, it's stone dead," he dismissed easily. He squinted, looking around for a plausible explanation. "The signal's alive. Something's reaching out."

He stared intently through the glass. "Calling for help." Placing the tip of his finger gently on the glass, an alarm went off and they were promptly surrounded by soldiers all pointing their guns at them.

Rose exhaled loudly, raising her arms up in surrender. The Doctor flashed the soldiers a disarming grin.

* * *

The Doctor looked on in boredom as Van Statten played with the Ferghian harp. His foot started to tap impatiently, itching for another adventure.

From the moment he laid eyes on Van Statten, he could feel the arrogance oozing off of him. His greasy hair, combed back to appear stylish, his three piece suit, just slightly too big for him, as if he tried to have it tailored to him but was too broad.

He was utterly unimpressed by him, and Van Statten knew it.

Van Statten tossed the harp carelessly to the side, eyes narrowed in suspicion at the two of them, "Who exactly are you?"

The Doctor clenched his jaw at the easy carelessness of Van Statten, "I'm the Doctor. And who are you?"

"Like you don't know," he scoffed. "We're hidden away with the most valuable collection of extra-terrestrial artefacts in the world, and you just stumbled in by mistake."

The Doctor shrugged, smiling blandly, "Pretty much sums me up, yeah."

"The question is, how did you get in?" Van Statten stared at him dubiously. "53 floors down. With your little cat burglar accomplice."

He looked at Rose, "Quite a collector yourself, she's rather pretty."

Rose huffed in annoyance, saying pointedly, "And she's gonna smack you if you keep calling her 'she'"

Van Statten turned his eyes back on the Doctor, ecstatic, "She's English too!" He looked over at the other man, taunting, "Hey, little Lord Fauntleroy, got you a girlfriend. "

"This is Mr Henry Van Statten," the other said, flushing slightly.

The blonde raised her eyebrows, thoroughly unimpressed, "And who's he when he's at home?"

"Mr Van Statten owns the Internet," his voice and face displaced much annoyance on Van Statten's behalf.

"Don't be stupid," Rose dismissed, "no one owns the Internet."

"And let's just keep the whole world thinking that way, right kids?"

"So you're an expert on just about everything except the things in your museum. Anything you don't understand, you lock up," the Doctor said, unable to keep the slight disdain from his voice.

"And you claim greater knowledge?" Van Statten raised a brow.

"I don't need to make claims, I know how good I am," the Doctor said simply.

"And yet, I captured you," Van Statten countered while the Doctor shrugged as if it didn't matter. "Right next to the Cage. What were you doing down there?"

"You tell me."

"The cage contains my one living specimen."

"And what's that?" the Doctor asked cooly, keeping his intrigue under wraps.

"Like you don't know."

"Show me."

"You wanna see it?" Van Statten said enticingly.

"Blimey," Rose said disbelievingly, eyeing the two of them in amusement, "you can smell the testosterone."

"Goddard," he looked at a woman in a sharp suit, "inform the Cage. We're heading down."

Goddard nodded and Van Statten addressed the other, "You, English. Look after the girl. Canoodle or spoon, or whatever it is you British do. And you, Doctor with no name…. Come and see my pet."

* * *

The door shut behind the Doctor. He looked at some of the instruments the… scientist was using to torture the alien. Through the darkness, the Doctor saw a blue light giving away the alien's location in the cage.

He approached the captive slowly, murmuring lowly, "Look, I'm sorry about this. Mr Van Statten might think he's clever, but never mind him. I've come to help. I'm the Doctor."

There was a moment's silence before there was a familiar mechanic croon, "Doc-tor."

The Doctor reeled back, eyes wide in absolute shock, "Impossible."

" _The_ Doctor?"

The Doctor stood stock still, his eyes wide, his mouth slightly open. Lights suddenly came on, illuminating the familiar form of a Dalek.

He couldn't believe it. There was still one alive, it stayed standing, albeit chained up. It was still a formidable enemy, locked up. The Doctor remembered what had happened the last time the Time Council had captured a Dalek.

There wasn't a single Time Lord still alive.

Bile rose in his mouth, as the memories rose to the forefront of his mind. His hearts stuttered in fear, and the acrid smell of smoke and ash burnt his nose.

" _Exterminate_! _Exterminate_! _Exterminate_!"

The Doctor banged on the door of the cage, rattling it. "Let me out!" He knew his voice was high pitched, drenched in fear, but at the moment, he didn't care. All he knew was that he needed to escape.

"Exterminate! You are an enemy of the Daleks! You must be destroyed!" It waved its gun around helplessly.

The Doctor slowly lowered his hand, wondering why the Dalek wasn't shooting at him. He turned around apprehensively, still looking terrified before his face broke into a huge grin.

"It's not working!" He cried slightly manically, laughing.

The Dalek's eyepiece looked down at its gun, either sheepish or annoyed.

The Doctor continued to laugh maniacally, "Fantastic! Oh, fantastic! Powerless! Look at you. The Great Space Dustbin. How does it feel?"

In a moment of feral rage, he lunged at the Dalek. The Dalek strained against its chains, unbidden fear in its usually mechanical voice, "Keep back!"

The Doctor was inches from the Dalek, looking straight into its eyepiece. His blue eyes were glinting in fury, "What for? What're you going to do to me?"

There was silence, and the Doctor stared at the Dalek in contemplation, "If you can't kill... then what are you good for, Dalek? What's the point of you?"

He circled the Dalek, the Dalek following his progress with its eyepiece. "You're nothing. So what the hell are you here for?"

"I am waiting for orders."

"What does that mean?" He eyed the Dalek, he knew for a fact that all the other Daleks were dead, even if one survived.

"I am a soldier. I was bred to receive orders."

"Well you're never gonna get any." he sneered. "Not ever."

"I demand orders!"

"They're never gonna come!" His voice rose, stepping predatorily at it. "Your race is dead! You all burnt, all of you. Ten million ships on fire, the entire Dalek race wiped out in one second."

"You lie!"

"I watched it happen. I _made_ it happen!" The Doctor broke off, head turning to the side as his hearts ached.

"You destroyed us?" the Dalek's voice was quiet, its eyepiece drooping lower.

The Doctor walked away, his back turned on the Dalek. His voice was quiet, strained, "I had no choice."

"And what of the Time Lords?"

"Dead," he choked on the bitterness of the word. "They burnt with you. The end of the last great Time War. Everyone lost."

"And the coward survived," the derisiveness of the tone caused a fire to light up within the Doctor.

"Oh, and I caught your little signal…" he mocked, voice pitched high, "help me... poor little thing." He resumed his normal tone. "But there's no one else coming 'cuz there's no one else left.

"I am alone in the Universe."

"Yep." The Doctor grinned arrogantly before his smile dropped at the Dalek's next words.

"So are you. We are the same."

The Doctor spun around to face the Dalek angrily. "We're not the same, I'm not-"

He stopped. "No, wait. Maybe we are. You're right, yeah, okay. You've got a point. 'Cuz I know what to do. I know what should happen. I know what you deserve."

Raising his eyebrows, his mouth curled into a sneer. "Exterminate."

He pulled a lever on the control panel. and the Dalek was immediately engulfed by electricity. It started screaming again.

"Have pity!"

"Why should I? You never did." He turned up the voltage.

He stared at the crying Dalek, watching intently. A hand gripped his shoulders, tearing his eyes away from the Dalek.

"Hey. Hey!" Another voice broke him out of his gleeful euphoria. His eyes focussed on Jordan, a hard look on her- their eyes.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" They asked incredulously, pulling the lever down. The Dalek moaned in pain, breaths rattling from its metal encasing.

"What do you mean? They took everything from me! This is well deserved," the Doctor said harshly, wrenching away from their grip.

"You don't get to make that choice," Jordan said, pulling him back toward them. They stared at him intently, their necklace flashing red, "You are _not_ judge, jury and executioner."

"Then why have I done it so many times?"

Jordan's jaw dropped, hand falling slack. The red tint in their brown eyes faded, and they stared at him as if they didn't recognize him, and he felt a sick sense of pride for finally causing the quiet, collected Jordan, the person who refused to tell him anything, shocked.

Security burst in and grabbed the Doctor before he can lunge for the control panel again. Van Statten addressed the Dalek. "I saved your life, now talk to me! Goddamn it, talk to me!"

"You've got to destroy it!" the Doctor called as he was dragged away, Jordan following still shell shocked.

"The last in the Universe," Van Statten mused, a predatory glint in his eyes. "And now I know your name. Dalek. Speak to me, Dalek."

The Dalek stayed silent, and Van Statten looked at it angrily. "I am Henry van Statten, now recognise me!"

Silence again, and Van Statten sighed irritability, glancing at Simmons, "Make it talk again, Simmons."

Simmons approached the Dalek with a greedy look in his eye.

"Whatever it takes."

* * *

The Doctor, Jordan, Van Statten, Goddard and the security guards step into the lift. The Doctor's arms were restrained by the guards, though he didn't look so worried. Jordan leant against the wall of the lift.

"The metal's just battle armour. The real Dalek creature is inside."

"What does it look like?" Van Statten asked.

"A nightmare. It's a mutation," the hate in the Doctor's voice was palpable in the air. "The Dalek race was genetically engineered, every single emotion was removed except hate."

"Genetically engineered…" Van Statten was impressed, "by whom?"

"By a genius, Van Statten. By a man who was king of his own little world, you'd like him."

"It's been on Earth for over fifty years," Goddard pointed out, "sold at a private auction moving from one collection to another. Why would it be a threat now?"

"Because I'm here," the Doctor said simply. He caught Jordan's eyes, who was staring at him impassively. He looked away, "How did it get to Earth? Does anyone know?"

"Records say it came from the sky like a meteorite," Goddard looked over her clipboard. "It fell to Earth on the Ascension Islands, burnt in its crater for nearly three days before anybody could get near it and all that time it was screaming. It must've gone insane."

"Must've fallen through time. The only survivor."

"You talked about a war?"

"The Time War," the Doctor nodded. "The final battle between my people and the Dalek race."

"But you survived too."

"Not by choice," the Doctor said.

"This means that the Dalek isn't the only alien on Earth, Doctor, there's you. The only one of your kind in existence." Van Statten's eyes flitted to Jordan, "And what about him?"

"He's no one," the Doctor dismissed.

"Ah, but he came into a _locked_ room with you and the Dalek without any of our say so's," Van Statten smirked, and Jordan froze.

"Seems there's more technology that you're hiding."

"Listen to me, that Dalek is gonna murder everyone on this planet."

Van Statten only shook his head with a gleaming smirk. The guards slammed him roughly against a wall, chaining him with manacles.

Lights flashed on, illuminating the Doctor, chained up against a rack and stripped his torso. Van Statten stood behind an instrument pointing at the Doctor. Jordan was chained to the side, glaring a hole into the floor and hands in front.

"Now, smile!" Van Statten mocked with a grin. The instrument ran some sort of scan over the Doctor's torso. The Doctor moaned slightly in pain, grimacing. The scan image showed the Doctor's ribcage with two hearts beating within it.

"Two hearts! Binary vascular system!" Van Statten said gleefully. "Oh, I am so going to patent this."

"So that's your secret," the Doctor panted out. "You don't just collect this stuff - you scavenge it."

"This technology has been falling to Earth for centuries. All it took was the right mind to use it properly. Oh, the advances I've made from alien junk, you have no idea, Doctor," Van Statten looked at the Doctor with an arrogant expression. "Broadband? Roswell. Just last year my scientists cultivated bacteria from the Russian Crater, and do you know what they found?"

The Doctor looked at him angrily, but Van Statten only continued, "The cure for the common cold. Kept it strictly within the laboratory of course, no need to get people excited. Why sell one cure when I can sell a thousand palliatives?"

He smiled smugly, and Jordan scoffed. Eyes turned to the captive, and Van Statten crouched down to stare Jordan in the face.

"Did you say something, boy?"

"I'm more of a man than you'll ever be," Jordan's eyes were tinged with red, the brown of hi - their eyes nearly drowned out by it.

"And why's that?" Van Statten said haughtily.

Jordan moved in a flash, gripping the front of his shirt, hissing something in his ear. When Jordan let him go, the Doctor didn't know if he wanted to know what they said.

Van Statten stumbled back into the arms of a guard. He looked visibly shaken, and the Doctor spoke up, causing all to turn to him, "Do you know what a Dalek is, Van Statten? A Dalek is honest. It does what it was born to do for the survival of its species, that creature in your dungeon is better than you."

"In that case," Van Statten fixed his shirt and smoothed out his balding hair, "I will be true to myself and continue."

He walked back to the scanner, motioning to the guards, and the guards fixed the Doctor's chains. The Doctor was so engrossed in his warning that he didn't notice how they had switched chains to Jordan, who stayed suspiciously silent.

"Listen to me," the Doctor was frantic in trying to persuade Van Statten, "that thing downstairs is going to kill every last one of us!"

"Nothing can escape the Cage."

He ran the scan again, and the Doctor braced himself for pain. When none came, he continued to plead for Van Statten's understanding, "But it's woken up! It knows I'm here! It's gonna get out! Van Statten, I swear no one on this base is safe! No one on this planet!"

The scan was run again.

And this time Jordan couldn't hold back their scream.

* * *

" _Condition red! Repeat, condition red! This is not a drill!"_

Van Statten looked up at the intercom with interest.

The Doctor and Jordan panted in exertion and pain at the pause in scanning. There was a scream, and Van Statten spun to look at the two of them.

"Release us if you want to leave," the Doctor said wearily, thoughts of Rose and terror stricken his hearts.

There was a battle of wills, and Van Statten chanced a look at Jordan who stared back with a fierce glare and he shivered.

He flicked a hand at the guards who promptly took off the chains. Jordan nearly fell to their knees before the Doctor caught them. He gently set them to their feet, straightening to his full height.

The Doctor strode out the doors, a war brewing in his blue eyes.

* * *

The Doctor, Jordan, Van Statten, Goddard and Van Statten's security guards stood in the lift, waiting impatiently.

Jordan whispered something to a guard, who nodded slightly before the lift stopped and everyone else beside the guard and Jordan exited the lift and enter Van Statten's office.

The Doctor addressed a monitor where there was a communication link to the lobby, "You've got to keep it in that cell."

"Doctor, it's all my fault." Rose's voice came through the communicator. The Doctor didn't have time to contradict or agree with her when he was running through possible escape plan by the second.

"I've sealed the compartment," a man said. "It can't get out, that lock's got a billion combinations."

"The Dalek's a genius," the Doctor refuted. "It can calculate a thousand billion combinations in one second flat."

A moment later, the same man exclaimed, "My God! Open fire!"

"Don't shoot it!" Van Statten warned, "I want it unharmed!"

"Rose, get out of there!"

"Abandoning the cage, sir."

"We're losing power," Goddard said, reading the diagnostics from the computer. "It's draining the base. Oh my God. It's raiding entire power supplies for the whole of Utah."

"It's downloading."

"Downloading what?" and there was finally a tint of fear in Van Statten's voice.

"Sir, the entire West Coast has gone down."

"It's not just energy," the Doctor said grimly. "That Dalek just absorbed the entire Internet. It knows everything."

* * *

Jordan ran down the stairs, the guard following after them.

"So," Jordan said in exertion, "you've got a name? Or do I have to calling you guard in my head?"

To his credit, the guard didn't even looked winded as he followed, "Ward."

"That a first name, Ward?" Jordan asked. "Or is it your last name?"

Ward didn't respond, turning and meeting a bunch of armed soldiers pointing their guns at one entrance point.

"Civilians!" A female voice shouted. "Let them through!"

"Guess this is goodbye, Ward," Jordan saluted him, and they quickly ran after the other three.

They ran and ran until they had to skid to a stop when Rose froze in place, "Stairs!" she cried, "Now that's more like it!"

A man ran up behind them, not seeming to notice Jordan, "What are you doing? Run!"

"It hasn't got legs," Rose said, "It's stuck!"

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Jordan panted out.

Rose jumped in surprise, "Jordan! When'd you get here?"

"Just did, anyway that thing's smart. You think it can't figure out stairs?"

"It's coming! Get up!" the female soldier barked out.

They ran up the stairs and looked over the banisters to watch the Dalek. It stopped at the foot of the stairs.

Adam breathed a small sigh of relief. It ran its eyepiece over the stairs, as Adam said mockingly, "Great big alien death machine. Defeated by a flight of stairs."

Jordan punched his arm and he winced. They hissed at him, "Stop baiting them!"

The Dalek's eyepiece rested on the group. The soldier still had her gun pointing at it, "Now, listen to me. I demand that you return to your cage. If you want to negotiate, then I guarantee that Mr Van Statten will be willing to talk. I accept that we imprisoned you-"

Her voice shook as she steadied her hand, "And maybe that was wrong. But people have died, and that stops. Right now. The killing stops, have you got that?"

The Dalek merely watched her, saying nothing. She continued, "I demand that you surrender, is that clear?"

There was a pause as everyone waited with bated breath before the Dalek spoke, "El- e- vate."

The Dalek levitated in the air and floated up the first few steps of the stairs.

Jordan closed their eyes, muttering under their breath, "I fucking knew it."

"Oh my God," Rose breathed out in terror.

The Dalek proceeded up the stairs, the man looked gobsmacked.

"Adam, get these two out of here," the soldier said calmly, her hand shaking slightly.

"Come with us," Rose urged, "you can't stop it!"

"Someone's got to try. Now get out!" She pushed them away. "Don't look back, just run!"

Jordan stayed still as the other two ran, "What's your name?"

"What the hell are you still doing here?" she exclaimed, keeping her eyes still trained on the levitating Dalek.

"What's your name?" Jordan asked again.

"Karen. Karen De Maggio," Karen said quietly.

"I'm sorry, Karen," they said shakily.

"Get out of here," her voice shook, and Jordan bolted.

Moments later, they heard the sound of the exterminator beam and Karen's scream. They paused, breathing hard as a tear fell down their cheek.

They sprinted, barely catching up with the others. A man ordered out, "Hold your fire!"

Jordan looked around them to see dozens of soldiers positioned with guns at the ready. "You three! Get the hell out of here!"

They bolted, making it out the door as the Dalek rolled into view. They stopped for a moment to watch it. The Dalek stopped, and it focussed on them. It zoomed right in on Rose's face and turned in their direction.

Jordan grabbed Rose's hand and pulled her away, but she stopped again.

"It was looking at me," Rose said, bewildered.

"Yeah," Adam said, "it wants to slaughter us!"

Rose pulled her hand away, and Jordan furrowed their eyebrows. She started to pace, "I know! But it was looking right at me."

"So?" Adam said impatiently. "It's just a sort of metal eye thing, it's looking all around!"

"I don't know…" Rose shook her head, "it's like there's something inside looking at me, like... like it knows me."

"How did it get out?" Jordan asked.

The two stopped to stare at them, not sure if they were joking. Jordan huffed, "Well? Are you going to tell me or not?"

"I- I thought it was just an alien that was locked up. Then when I tried to comfort it, it- it glowed and burned me a bit."

"Are you still hurt?"

"No, it stopped as soon as it stung me, and it somehow immediately broke free from its chains," Rose said, unsure where Jordan was going with this.

Jordan had a deep, contemplative look on their face, a hand raked through their hair. "Interesting."

"What's even more interesting," Adam pointed out, "is how we're going to die if we just stand here. Let's run!"

* * *

Rose's phone rang as they were running, and Jordan stared at her incredulously as she picked up the phone.

"Now's not the best time, Doctor," Rose panted out. There was a pause, "Level 49…. Can't you stop them from closing?"

"Fine." She hung up and ran faster. "The Doctor said that we have to run to level 46. Otherwise, we'll be sealed off and away from them."

The other two only nodded and picked up the pace, running up stairs. The floors passed by in a blur, and Jordan could feel as their legs burned with exertion.

They really needed to exercise more if all the adventures were going to be like this. A sign passed by that read 46, and they could see the door in front of them.

The other two picked up the pace, Rose easily keeping up with Adam, and Jordan could see as the bulkhead started lowering.

The two were nearly a yard in front of Jordan now, and they felt as their legs started to give out. Adam and Rose rolled underneath the bulkhead just as Jordan reached it, slamming against the cold metal.

They breathed out heavily, knowing how close they were to death. Their legs gave out, and they slid to the floor, heart racing and legs throbbing in pain.

Massaging their ankle, Jordan heard as the Dalek approached. They didn't look up, "Well? Here to kill me?"

The Dalek didn't say anything. It stayed still, eyestalk moving up and down. It inched forward, staring at the human.

The want to exterminate was welling up inside itself. But it stayed its gun. There was a hunger, a want, a _need_ to exterminate the human in front of it.

And that was the dilemma. Daleks shouldn't need or want anything, but the bloodthirstiness of extermination and the fulfillment it knew it would get from it excited it.

That was a terrifying thought, terror, fulfillment, need. It knew its purpose: to exterminate all non-Daleks.

Then, why. Was. It. _Scared?_

"What's wrong?" It whirled its eyestalk to see that the human had stood up, a hand outstretched toward it.

It wheeled back in fear, "Do. Not. Touch."

The human huffed, "Fine. But you're not killing me right away, like the other soldiers. Sorry if I'm a little concerned."

"You. Should. Not. Be. Con- cerned. About. Me," it stuttered out. "I- am - armed. I- will- kill. It- is- my pur-pose."

"Then why haven't you? You wheeled away from me before, like you were terrified."

"I am not scared! I can _not_ fear! _Must_ not fear!" It waved its eyestalk around wildly, shooting on either side of the human.

The human winced at the blasts, and the Dalek felt satisfaction for scaring the human before it realized again that it was feeling.

"I am con-tam-in-ated! Contam-in-ated!"

"Oh my god, shut up!"

The Dalek quieted down at the harshness in the human's voice. The human stepped forward, and it wheeled back before realizing its plunder and standing its ground.

"So I'm guessing when Rose touched you, you absorbed a bit of her humanity," the human mused. A hand reached up to ruffle through curls of hair, and it saw a tinge of gold in the human's eyes.

"I am a disgrace."

"To what? Dalekkind? Seems to me that you're the last one, so does it matter so much that you're what- half human?" the human shrugged, and it knew that the human did not- could not understand.

"I am- was a Dalek. Daleks are pure, Daleks are superior. Daleks-"

"Have an ego the size of the universe?" the human quirked an eyebrow, and the Dalek felt irritation well up.

"Come here."

"I'm good," the human declined.

The Dalek powered up its gun, and the human looked at it nervously, "You know what, maybe I will."

It hacked into the mainframe again, looking directly into the camera. "Open the bulkhead or the human dies."

"You're alive!" the Doctor's relief was palpable, and the Dalek was disgusted by it.

"I think it's impossible for me to die when you're around," the human said.

"Jordan, I'm so sorry-" Its animator's voice filtered through, and there was happiness at seeing the human. The Dalek was torn between Rose's feeling of relief and its own want for destruction.

"Open the bulkhead!"

"You know I'm pretty sure that's like a surefire way of dying. So how about you don't, Doctor?" the human drawled, keeping an even, almost bored, tone. But the Dalek could hear the rapidly beating heart and the slight tremor in the words.

"What use are emotions if you cannot save the one you love?" The Dalek cut off communications as the bulkhead lifted, and it ushered the human forward.

"You know I don't really think the Doctor loves me. Are you sure you're not mistaken for like- Rose or literally anyone else?"

"Shut up."

"Shutting up."

* * *

"I'm sorry," Van Statten's voice was distant as the words echoed emptily around the room.

"I knew that I didn't need to protect him- them. They always did their own thing, I could rely on them. They were my constant after the war. They were only here because of me, and you're sorry?" the Doctor stalked toward Van Statten, an enraged look in his eyes. "I could've killed that Dalek in its cell. But you stopped me."

"It was the prize of my collection!"

"Your collection?" the Doctor roared. "Was it worth it? Worth all those men's deaths? Worth Jordan?"

There was silence as the Doctor breathed heavily in rage, "Let me tell you something, Van Statten. Mankind goes into space to explore. To be part of something greater."

"Exactly!" Van Statten nodded enthusiastically. "I wanted to touch the stars!"

" _You_ just want to drag the stars down and stick them underground underneath tons of sand and dirt," the Doctor sneered contemptuously. "And label them. You're about as far from the stars as you can get."

The Doctor's face, contorted with fury suddenly softened into a sad, grief-stricken expression, "And you took them down with you."

Rose and Adam walked in, and Rose had tears in her eyes, sobbing, "Doctor, I'm so sorry. I thought he was right behind me. I stood back up and then he wasn't there - and- and-"

The Doctor shook his head, opening his arms, and Rose ran into his embrace, sobbing into his chest. He looked over at Adam with a sneer, "You were quick on your feet, leaving Jordan behind."

"I didn't even know the guy!" Adam defended. "And what? The blonde sobs a little, showing tears, and she's off the hook?"

The Doctor opened his mouth, ready with a retort when a screen popped up, Jordan standing by the Dalek's side.

"Open the bulkhead, or the human dies."

"You're alive!" the Doctor's relief was palpable as he stepped forward toward the screen.

"I think it's impossible for me to die when you're around," Jordan said with a quirk of their lips.

"Jordan, I'm so sorry-" Rose stepped forward out of the Doctor's embrace, pleading.

"Open the bulkhead!"

"You know I'm pretty sure that's like a surefire way of dying. So how about you don't?" Jordan drawled, keeping an even, almost bored, tone. Their eyes flashed gold.

"What use are emotions if you cannot save the one you love?" the Dalek taunted. The screen shut off, turning black.

"Doctor, what are you gonna do?" Rose asked hesitantly.

"I killed them once," he went to the computer, "I can't do it again."

He hit the button.

* * *

"What do we do now?" Van Statten spat out. "You bleeding heart, what the hell do we do?"

The Doctor glared at him.

"Kill it when it gets here!" Adam tried.

"All the guns are useless," Goddard said, "and the alien weapons are in the vault."

"Only the catalogued ones," Adam said hesitantly.

Van Statten turned to him, eyebrows raised. Adam looked back at him apologetically.

"Take me there," the Doctor ordered.

Adam nodded nervously, leading them toward his workshop. He gestured toward a basket, and the Doctor started rummaging through it.

He took one out, "Broken," and chucked it aside, taking out another. "Broken."

He chucked it behind him, looking at another one, "Hairdryer."

"Mr Van Statten tends to dispose of his staff, and when he does he wipes their memory. I kept this stuff in case I needed to fight my way out one day."

The Doctor turned to look at him in disbelief, "What, you in a fight? I'd like to see that."

"I could do," Adam said, miffed.

"What're you gonna do, throw your A-Levels at 'em?" he said before finding a suitable weapon. "Oh, yes. Lock and load."

* * *

Jordan strolled alongside the Dalek, and they saw its death ray twitch.

They whistled, catching its attention, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"And why not?"

"You're confused. All your life you've been instructed to kill like a good little soldier. Now you're given more options. To _not_ kill, and you're curious."

The Dalek was deathly still, only continuing forward.

Several corridors later, they walked into Van Statten's office where the man was standing, waiting.

The Dalek advanced toward him, and Van Statten walked backward, fear etched on his face. It looked him directly in the eyes, "Van Statten. You tortured me. Why?"

Van Statten backed away, terrified, "I wanted to help you, I just… I don't know, I- I was just trying to help. I thought if we could get through to you, if we could mend you… I wanted you better. I'm sorry."

"Falsehood," Jordan said calmly, and Van Statten looked up only for his heart to stop beating at the intensity and red in the other's eyes. His back hit the wall in fear.

"You may be sorry, but it's not for hurting the Dalek. For getting into this mess, sure, but not for hurting it."

Jordan approached the two of them, addressing the Dalek, "Don't stoop to his level. He's a disgusting ball of slime that isn't worth your time. Killing him won't get you anywhere, just makes you as bad as him. What else do you want?"

There was a heavy silence as Van Statten wondered if this was his last day on earth. The Dalek backed away slightly, "I want… freedom."

Jordan smiled kindly, a golden white tinge in their eyes, "Then freedom you shall have."

* * *

Jordan stood by the Dalek's side, a calculating look on their face. The two of them stood on the first level of the base.

The Dalek fired its ray at the ceiling, making a hole where sunlight flooded the room.

"There's your freedom," Jordan murmured gently.

"How… does it… feel?" the Dalek said stiltedly.

"Like happiness," they replied, and Jordan watched in astonishment as the Dalek opened up its casing to reveal a mutated creature inside.

Its tentacles or feelers or whatever they were stretched out toward the sunlight. It closed its eye in contentment.

"Get out of the way," the Doctor's hard voice caused them to jump and turn around. He was holding some sort of gun at the Dalek, a hard look in his blue eyes. Rose ran up beside him, looking slightly shocked.

They hummed, "No."

"Jordan, I'm not gonna say this again: get out of the way."

"No. You're better than this, Doctor."

"That thing's killed hundreds of people," he said.

"But it's not killing now," Jordan pointed out. They waved a hand at the quiet Dalek, eye still closed.

"I've got to do this. I've got to end it. The Daleks destroyed my home, my people. I've got nothing left," the Doctor's voice shook, and Jordan looked at him in sympathy, eyes flashing blue.

"Jordan's right, Doctor," Rose spoke up. She walked over to them standing resolutely by their side. "Look at it."

"What's it doing?"

"All it wants is the sunlight," Rose said, looking at the Dalek in awe and slight fear.

"But it can't…." the Doctor shook his head in confusion.

"It's mutated, Doctor, it's changed," Jordan said gently, "And you? What are you changing into?"

He lowered his gun, face completely lost, "Jordan… I- I-"

They nodded their head, "I know, it's okay."

"They're all dead."

"Why do we survive?" the Dalek struggled to say.

"I don't know."

"Life is balanced with death," Jordan said, eyes flitting between blue and gold.

"I am the last of the Daleks."

"Not even that," the Doctor shook his head. "Rose did more than regenerate you. You absorbed her DNA. You've mutated."

"Into what?"

"Something new. I'm sorry."

"Isn't that better?" Rose asked.

"Not for a Dalek."

Rose stared at it in sorrow and sympathy, eyes falling from her eyes. Jordan wrapped an arm around her in support.

"I can feel so many ideas. So much darkness…" the Dalek said in disgust. "Rose… give me orders! Order me to die."

It opened its eye. The Doctor looked between the Dalek to Rose who was struggling to speak, "I can't do that."

"This is not life," the Dalek sneered. "This is sickness."

Rose's face contorted with pity and disgust as the Dalek screeched, "I shall not be like you. Order my destruction! Obey! Obey! Obey!"

"Do it," Rose said weakly after a moment's silence. She buried her head in Jordan's shoulder.

"Are you frightened, Rose Tyler?"

"Yeah," her voice was muffled by Jordan's shoulder, nodding.

"So am I," it wheeled backwards, a safe distance away from the hugging pair. It said feebly, "Exterminate."

The Dalek replaced its armour. It levitated into the air and the golden knobs detached themselves to surround the Dalek in a perfect sphere.

It glowed briefly, and then exploded inside the sphere, vanishing into nothing. The Doctor stared at the place where it disappeared, stunned.

Jordan hugged Rose tightly, rubbing her back before letting go and grabbing her hand. They kissed the top of her head, then lead her over to the Doctor who still looked lost.

They put a hand over his, their brown eyes looking at him intently in understanding. "C'mon, Doctor," they murmured softly, grabbing his hand and squeezing lightly, "I think it's time for a new adventure."

* * *

The running water was a soothing rhythm to the Doctor, the droplets repeatedly hitting the wall of the shower.

He ignored the glaring cat in the corner, not wanting to start up another argument with that goddamned feline.

Staring at the bathroom door, he waited for Jordan to walk out. The squeak of the water handle halted the water, and he heard as Jordan stepped out of the stall.

There was a muffled humming, and the Doctor felt a strum of amusement at hearing the noncommittal humming.

Of course they would be one to hum to music when there wasn't any, they _were_ that kind of person.

The Doctor felt guilty at the reminders of the pronouns, remembering how he had misgendered them earlier today.

He couldn't help himself though, everything that he had learned about humans was their strict binary nonsense, even separating by colours.

Though that wasn't much of an excuse, he had met plenty of aliens with more than just female or male as genders. He remembered what Jordan said to him after one adventure, how their eyes were gentle as they explained that it wasn't about getting it always correct, but more about constantly correcting yourself.

The Doctor didn't know how they were so patient with him, especially with how he treated them. That one adventure haunting him.

The door to the bathroom clicked quietly, the hinges squeaking open. He looked up and saw how Jordan froze in the doorway, a towel tousling their hair dry.

"Er…" the Doctor's gaze wandered down and realized why they were so embarrassed, The bare torso of theirs glistened with water, and if the Doctor was a lesser man, he would be blushing.

But he wasn't, and all he could do was stare.

"Doctor, care to tell me why you're here? In my room?"

"Right," he snapped back to attention, head tilted upwards to look away from them. "I just wanted to tell you how sorry I was."

"You can look now," their voice was tinged with amusement, and he smiled sheepishly at them. They set the towel around their shoulders, "And it's whatever. I forgive you."

"What?" the Doctor looked up at them quickly. "How can you forgive me just like that?"

They shrugged, picking up their goddamn cat and petting it, "I'm a forgiving person. Trusting? Not so much, but even I can see how much of a toll seeing that Dalek again was on you. I figured I could cut you some slack."

"But-"

"Nothing. It's my choice to forgive you or not, not yours. Don't take choices away from people, Doctor."

He sighed, "You're right."

"How difficult was that for you to say?" they teased with a grin. They set the cat down, settling down next to him.

"Very," he said gruffly, eyes twinkling in mischief, smile brightening when they huffed out a little laugh.

"Where did you come from?" he asked curiously.

"Er- America. Oh you meant which you. Future you, sorry I don't think I'm really allowed to say," they looked at him apologetically, brown eyes earnest.

The Doctor shook his head, grinning self-deprecatingly, "It's alright."

The two sat in silence, and the Doctor worked up his nerve to grab their hand. They looked down in surprise before smiling kindly at him, and they sat in comfortable silence.

It felt like eons had passed before a light weight fell on his shoulder. He glanced down with a soft smile at the human on his shoulder.

Shifting them gently, he laid against the headboard of the bed with them between his legs and their head against his chest. He carded a hand through their nearly dry curls, their breath evening out.

The cat padded up to the pair and settled in Jordan's lap, purring contentedly.

It wasn't too long until he followed them in slumber.

When he woke up, hours later and feeling more refreshed than he had in weeks, and Jordan was nowhere to be found. He wasn't surprised.

Not surprised. Only slightly disappointed.

* * *

 _How'd you like to be the first woman on the moon?_

 _That's when the trouble began back on Earth. High tide everywhere at once. The greatest natural disaster in history._

 _That's the Mare Fecunditatis. It's been there since the Apollo days. It's always been there._

 _None of you are going anywhere. I've lost my crew. We were the last astronauts. This is the last shuttle, these are the last nuclear bombs. We're the last chance for Earth, and you're staying to help me._

 _This is a- this is a life. I mean, this must be the biggest life in the universe._

* * *

 **Hello, hello, hello!**

 **I don't even know what this is anymore, which coincidentally is the title of this document. Anyway, this has been a long time coming. Sorry for the wait. Tell me what you liked or disliked in the comment section down below, and I will see _you_ in the next chapter!**

 **Goodbye, bye, bye!**


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